Happry ThanksGiving!

I want to wish you the Happiest Thanksgiving Ever- of course I will do the same thing next year:)

To me Thanksgiving and all the holidays are special times for families but especially for children. The reason I feel this way is because each day and each event is molding and shaping their lives. We as adults play such a huge roll in what our children will become simply by what we provide them emotionally, the experiences we give, and our time we share with them.

I want to share with you a story that has never left my mind in over 12 years- since the day it happened.

I was teaching a physical education class in the morning. The class I was teaching was 1st grade. There was one little girl in the class that had a difficult home life. She was one of 5 or 6 kids that were all pretty young. The little girl would come to school in the middle of winter with old torn sneakers, no socks, her hair unclean and messy, and the biggest smile on her face. She would always greet me and any other teacher in the morning when she came into the cafeteria for a free breakfast. Anyway, it was about half way through the class when 2 adults came in to my class and asked to see this little girl. When I asked who they were and what they needed to see her for they responded "we are with social services and we need to take her with us." When the class was over I asked the little girls teacher what that was all about. She told me they were taking her from her parents. The social workers had gone to the little girls home and found no food what so ever in the house except a couple of cans of soda lying around but they found cartons and cartons of cigarettes lying all over the house. The parents found the money for their habits but no money to keep the kids fed.

All I can remember, to this day, is the look on the little girls face when she reached out and grabbed the hand of the women social worker and walked out the door. She was confused but didn't question. I often wished I could have done something to make the little girl feel safe and loved at that moment. She was simply caught in a situation where her parents obviously didn't understand their roles.

Even though this is the day known as Thanksgiving, I can't see any reason we don't make everyday a reason to give thanks for what we have and what we are capable of giving. Each day their are little girls and boys being taken from their homes because they are not being given proper love and care. That little girl without, even knowing it, gave so much to me because of how her situation affected me. The part that touched me the most is how she never stopped behaving correctly. She had all the reasons in the world to become a "difficult" child to deal with. Somehow she always showed up with a smile and a good spirit.

Take a little extra time to give thanks for the people in your life that truly care and love you.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Lee