They All Fall Down

Our son, Colby, is 9 years old, and mature on many fronts.  Just this past week, we had some moments in which he really began seeing the world through his “big kid eyes”, as Jerry Spinelli so aptly puts it….

 “Big-kid eyes replace little-kid eyes. Little-kid eyes are scoopers. They just scoop up everything they see and swallow it whole, no questions asked. Big-kid eyes are picky. They notice things that little-kid eyes never bothered with: the way a teacher blows her nose, the way a kid dresses or pronounces a word.”

As a 3rd grade teacher, I have read those words at least a dozen times when I’ve read aloud the book “Loser” to my class. Third grade is the cusp year for many things, and it seems many children lose the little-kid eyes in this year of elementary school.

On Tuesday evening, as we lay in the dark of his bedroom, Colby asked for real clarity on the subject of Santa. Asking for truth, I certainly wasn’t going to deny him this time. He brought it up in December, literally days before Christmas, and I simply couldn’t let him have a perfectly anti-climactic holiday. And so, we chatted honestly about it being a world tradition that parents carry out. I explained that the joy won’t be any less simply because he knows the givers of the gifts. He agreed, and we both affirmed it was never about Santa anyway.

Then, almost 24 hours later, on Wednesday night at bedtime, he probed about the Tooth Fairy. He laughed out loud thinking about his dad sneaking into his room to swap out the tooth for some coins. We prayed, said “Good Night”, and I left feeling lighter, and I know he did as well. 

Finally, come Thursday evening, I overheard Colby and Dad chatting about the Easter Bunny. It was the inevitable conversation still to come. 

He reported back to me about that chat during our bedtime routine. 

All in all, the conversations were more sweet than bitter— even endearing.  To be able to speak very openly and honestly about these childhood experiences was of great comfort to me.  I am sure the questions were brewing for some time for him, but they were discussed in such rapid succession, it was like subsequent games of Ring-Around-the-Rosie.  These non-truths no longer made sense to him, nor could he any longer just accept them and so, they all fell down.

Perhaps what this new era means is that Colby is making room for truth in his life—for belief in things that are not so flimsy. I can only pray that his mind always searches for wisdom, and that he follows his first instinct of asking Mom or Dad for guidance.  I know our conversations will eventually grow to contain matters with a bit more weight and complexity.

Mostly, my prayer is that his greatest belief, one that has already taken root, continues to flourish. 

May he know that God is good, desires a relationship with him, and has a plan for his life.

May he recognize Jesus as the only true source of hope in the world-  a world which will try to convince him otherwise.

May he also grow in wisdom enough to call out any falsehoods or lies for what they are and please, Lord, may they all fall down. 🙏

Dearest Marji

 The year was 2008, and I had just been hired as a 5th grade teacher at Oklahoma Elementary.   Only a few weeks into the school year, the sweet and vivacious 3rd grade teacher from a different hallway stood outside my door and asked, “Would you like to join the Sunshine Committee?”  It was her tone- half serious, half silly, which would become very familiar to me in the next 14 years that gravitated my personality to hers.

Marji, as you may know, has a heart right on the surface, but feelings that run very deep. After a decade of 5th grade, I got to move to 3rd grade, which meant my days at school would be in the company of this sweet companion.  Our best days and worst days of teaching played out together. In planning periods, meetings, or in the hallways after-school, you can bet Marji’s sense of humor had a way of alleviating tensions and finding the funny in our days. I often misquote Philippians 4:13 as , “I can do all things through Marji who gives me humor.”

She has a way of staying with me long after the moment is over, and days later, I will think of something she has said, and be roaring with laughter- tears running down my cheeks.  The woman can dance like no other, and makes a mean apple dumpling.  She and Dan have become dear friends of Tim and I outside of school, and love on our children like we are family.

I wish for you all to have a coworker like this. To know that just next door or down the hall, there is someone who is in your corner, who wants to share her homemade soup with you, and would take in your students in a moment’s notice if you had to suddenly leave.  I hope you have someone like her to enjoy the little things, like the new mug from TJ Maxx, or a photo from the weekend. Her one-liners are true—— “Everyone looks good in navy blue.” And, “When in doubt, wear pearls.”

Nothing could be sweeter than in her last year of teaching, she has my son in her classroom. He adores her like I do, and has experienced all her “lasts” with her.  She is not just co-worker, but friend, confidante, and Mother Hen when I need her to be.  Some years from now, when I look back on my teaching career, it will be relationships that will have mattered most. Marji will be at the top of that list, for all the little moments in the faculty room, at the copy machine, around a conference room table,  and at the recess bench have all added up to be one of the greatest friendships I will ever know.  

Let’s just say, I will be savoring the remainder of this school year. Come fall, our hallway will feel quite different without my teacher bestie. The best is yet to come for, you, Marji—grandbabies, a son’s wedding, extended summer and eternal weekends (And maybe, just maybe, that means a few more apple dumplings for me. 😁) 

A Prayer for Working Moms

 

Dear Lord,

I bring to you all the working moms.  

May you bless those of this generation who are daily inspiring their own children with bravery, work ethic, and fortitude. For with every day-in and day-out, there can be weariness, chaos, and disorganization.

Bring to our homes a steady ebb and flow, and fill us each with enough energy for our own brood, where the real work begins.   Give us the energy to actively parent, but also the opportunity to appropriately decompress.

Inspire each of us to make life at home a place of joy, love, creativity, safety and rest— rich in Your teachings and words.  Help us each to still speak in love when we are running dry.  Enable us to allow ourselves some grace when forgetfulness or haste enters. 

Bless our days at work, so that our efforts are not in vain, but make indelible differences in the lives of others. May we reflect Your love both inside and outside our homes. Thank you for the gifts within each of us to fulfill needs in our community and nurture a family at home.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Photo by Benjamin Manley on Unsplash