A is for Big Apple

Just taking a break from prepping for tomorrow’s “Back-2-School Night”. Well, we’re on Week 4 of school and all I can say is, I freaking love where I’m working, my 5th grade team of teachers and my students.  At this rate, the move out of NYC may be extended…..indefinitely (jk).

I have a student with CP (Cerebral Palsy) in my class.  He’s wheelchair bound and non-verbal but he’s quite bright. Every single day I see him watching the rest of the kids run around, watch other kids write on demand, speak their minds and basically, doing “everyday” stuff that the majority of us take for granted and I wonder…what is Tom thinking? How does he feel?   Though I don’t know many of his thoughts, he is constantly smiling and just has such a sweet spirit that it makes me tear up at times. I can only imagine what it’s like to have so many thoughts to communicate to others but physically being unable to.  When he opens his mouth, a jumble of incoherent sounds emerge yet he tries so hard to communicate. Through it all, he is still happy and exerts so much effort in class.

Just today I received an email from one of our Pi Phi alumnaes.  One of the women, after having twin girls in June, found out that one of the two girls has been diagnosed with Spinal Muscle Atrophy Type I and has approximately 4 months to live.

All of these situations just really remind me of how important it is to not take the little blessings and gifts that are often so easily overlooked, for granted.

If I have words to express, then say them.  If I have thoughts to share, then share them.  So many times I have things I want to say or express to my family and friends that instead of verbalizing it to them, I keep it in, thinking that somehow they’ll receive my messages or thoughts through my telepathic brain waves.

There are times when I’m so overwhelmed by how rich and blessed (I am/we are) that I’d say, at this very moment, it’s one of them.