eSpecially Ben

I've worked with your flower, And helped it to grow. I'm returning it now, But I want you to know... This flower is precious, As dear as can be. Love it, take care of it, And you will see... A bright new bloom, With every day. It grew and blossomed In such a wonderful way. In September just a bud, January, a bloom; Now a lovely blossom I'm returning in June. Remember, this flower, As dear as can be, Though rightfully yours, Part will always belong to me! --Author Unknown Ben's teacher sent this poem home, along with a letter describing her experience with our children this first year for her as a teacher. She also included a photo album for Ben filled with pictures from this year. Here are a few of my favorites: I won't include photos of other children from Ben's class, but there were several in there - always with the other classmate giving Ben the biggest hug. I know one little girl includes Ben in her prayers every night. I am glad to have a ph

This is an essay written for a graduate program application by someone who has known Ben for about 4 years. With Nicole's permission, I am posting this. I changed the name of the university. Working for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte exposed me to a lot of children. One of my many jobs at the YMCA is to teach swimming. As a swim instructor, I started teaching three-five years old how to swim. It was an amazing feeling and I enjoyed seeing the big happy smiles on their little faces. The Aquatics Coordinator had one specific child named Ben that she was assigned to instruct. Ben was five years old and has Cerebral Palsy. He does not talk, but makes loud noises in the water, which was a sign of his happiness. As time went on, I would say hello to Ben. I begin meeting his family and I would always give Ben hugs while he would pinch my cheeks and grab my hair. One day the Aquatics Coordinator came up to me and said that she had a new job offer in New York and was leaving in a mont

Three years ago, my sister and I surprised my mom for her "big" birthday (I'd be disowned if I listed which exact big birthday) and whisked her away to celebrate in Washington, DC. We had so much fun that we decided to make it an annual tradition. This year, they visited me in Charlotte and we shopped, ate and worked it all off doing Zumba and Pilates. Next year...perhaps DC again, it is smack in the middle for all of us, making travel plans easy.