Clever Characters

The phone rings and I answer. Tell me more about your child. What is going on at school? How long does homework take nightly? What is their attitude like? Panic, anger, and fear tumble awkwardly out. Can you help my child? My response is simple, "Sounds like we need to get an accurate picture of what is going on. We need an assessment to show us how your child learns and where they are academically." With that one call their journey to hope has begun. The parent and child arrive for the assessment. I sit and talk with the parents while the assessment is taken. It is so common to hear, "My child has developed a horrible attitude" or "My child lies to me all the time about school" or "my child's teacher says he daydreams all the time." From my experience I know these are common coping mechanisms. I remember in fourth grade I was a daydreaming fool. I was overwhelmed by a new school and math was torture. I would leave to a happy place in Lubbock...

I found myself completely unprepared for a conversation at my front door tonight. Twenty four hours ago a mom on our block asked me to watch her seven year old daughter. Her husband had been out of work and now they needed to move out of their home and while she packed could her daughter stay with me. This turned into spending the night, watching her today, and a very bizarre conversation tonight. In preparation to go trick-or-treating I asked both girls to shower and wash their hair. I could tell when I began to blow dry the little girl's hair she was not sure how to act. I asked if anyone had ever dried her hair before she said "No." For the last 7 years no one had ever taken time to blow her hair. This new knowledge sent a dart of sadness into my heart. We went with trick-or-treating, to a fall festival, she spent the night, went with us to church, and the girls played all day. Periodically she would come to me give me a big hug and thank me for the things I would nor...