I wrote almost 1.5 posts this morning. The half post was about revenge, and the nearly finished post was about religion. They were somewhat related. But for various reasons, I decided against either one. Instead, I wanted to write about something more positive and less deep. It is going to sound awfully similar to a post I wrote a couple of weeks ago, but as I continue to work through my life as it is now and "get right" with decisions I have made, sometimes you need reinforcement...
On Thursday, J and I showed up for dinner for the last after-school session of the year. As I blogged about previously, I worked with a group of kids one day a week up until I started a job at the beginning of this month. The experience was challenging and rewarding, and something I am glad I had the opportunity to be a part of.
Prior to our getting there that evening, I was a tired and in a bad mood as traffic was awful. As a result, we had gotten there later than planned, when half the kids were nearly finished. But when I walked in the door, two of the kids ran up to me and hugged me. I immediately forgot about my irritation; feeling the love of kids can do that. They told me how much they had missed me, and then one of the girls asked me where I had been. I reminded her that I had started a job (I stopped by a few weeks ago to tell the kids this). Then A told me to quit my job, just as she did last time. I laughed (partly because this was the last session) and said I had just started and I had to work, but I was still thinking of them. She hugged me again, and said okay, and walked away. I went on to enjoy some time with some of the kids and adults (and some delicious food). And I was glad I sat through the traffic to get there.
Even though I often question things I do, and I frequently wonder if I am making the right decisions, once again these children reminded me of something important:
Never underestimate the effect you can have on children.
:-)
On Thursday, J and I showed up for dinner for the last after-school session of the year. As I blogged about previously, I worked with a group of kids one day a week up until I started a job at the beginning of this month. The experience was challenging and rewarding, and something I am glad I had the opportunity to be a part of.
Prior to our getting there that evening, I was a tired and in a bad mood as traffic was awful. As a result, we had gotten there later than planned, when half the kids were nearly finished. But when I walked in the door, two of the kids ran up to me and hugged me. I immediately forgot about my irritation; feeling the love of kids can do that. They told me how much they had missed me, and then one of the girls asked me where I had been. I reminded her that I had started a job (I stopped by a few weeks ago to tell the kids this). Then A told me to quit my job, just as she did last time. I laughed (partly because this was the last session) and said I had just started and I had to work, but I was still thinking of them. She hugged me again, and said okay, and walked away. I went on to enjoy some time with some of the kids and adults (and some delicious food). And I was glad I sat through the traffic to get there.
Even though I often question things I do, and I frequently wonder if I am making the right decisions, once again these children reminded me of something important:
Never underestimate the effect you can have on children.
:-)
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