Making My Heart Hurt

Kids are amazing.  One minute they can drive you crazy and the next minute they can tell you a story and it can totally make your heart hurt.

There are times as a mom that you wonder if you're even getting through.  Are you teaching them anything or is everything you say going in one ear and out the other.  My conversation with Hannah tonight totally brought to my attention that she is learning and turning into an amazing young girl.

Hannah worked in the cafeteria for lunch yesterday at school.  During a regular school day the students are assigned a table to eat at.  From the conversation, I'm guessing that when you're a lunch worker, you can eat lunch at any table.

While driving in the car, I asked Hannah how her day at school went.  She told me about today and then asked if I wanted to hear a story about what happened yesterday.  The way she said it I immediately thought it was going to be about someone at school teasing her.  This is not what I was expecting:

"You know how when it's your first year at Edith Bowen you're kind of scared and really don't have a lot of friends?  There's this one girl that's new at school and yesterday she was eating lunch at a table all by herself.  Naomi, Erica, Sami and I thought we'd go sit by her and eat."

"Naomi had some other friends sitting at another table.  We were walking to sit by this girl and Naomi's friends starting yelling for her to come and sit with them and she did.  Erica followed Naomi and then Sami followed Erica.  I didn't want this girl to sit by herself so I still went and sat by her."

"I really didn't know what to say to her and I really liked her necklace so I told her that I liked it and it made her smile.  She finished eating and then said she was going to go and said good-bye.  The others started saying for me to come and sit with them because I was by myself but I had already started eating so I stayed there."

"Mom, what would you have done?  Would you have sat by this girl that was by herself or would you have gone with your friends?"

With tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, I ask, "Did you finish eating your lunch at the table by yourself."

Hannah: "Yes but it was ok because I didn't want the girl to sit by herself and she finished eating and had to go.  I had already started eating and I didn't want to pack up my food and move."

Wow!  My heart was/is full!  What an amazing girl!  It really did make me wonder.  Would I have been as strong as Hannah and been able to sit with the girl or would I have followed as the other did and go sit with my friends?

These small acts of kindness do prove that things do get through.