Mom, why is this bunny so …
Remember last fall, all that messy business when this, and “Your Worst Nightmare” happened, on my clock? A bond was formed when I called my son’s teacher, a woman I did not yet know well, to come over and stand in my living room, at 11 p.m. to say, “I think your bunny is dead.” The bunny that had been her pet, friend and surrogate child, for the last seven years. “So, could you please hurry up and get him out of here before my kids wake up and wonder why this bunny is so stiff?”
The teacher has a soft spot in my heart, not only for the drama we share, but for the gentle way she handled my son’s ridicule when he went to school, and heard the words, “Bunny Killer” on the playground.
I helped my son write a year-end thank you note to this teacher, at the last minute. I had waited too long, and he was too tired to write it, so I ended up coaxing most of the words out of him. My version went like this:
Thank you for being so kind to me this year when I was so sad.
He clarified things a bit, changing it to
Thank you for being so calm when I was so sad.
A powerful shift in words. He truly captured this teacher’s essence with that one word, calm. He’s lucky to have her again, for one more year.
7 Comments
Beck
Oh, that’s lovely. I love the precision he used with his words.
Heather
Kids can be so perceptive.
amy
lovely- such sweet and smart men you have surrounding you 🙂
Kirsetin
Out of the mouth of babes…
And, yuck and yikes, I wasn’t around here yet for that bunny story. I’m so glad I didn’t read it before we volunteered to take home Buddy, the class turtle.
Will we get lots of fun lake pictures this summer?
Kathryn
Aww. His words were just perfect. How sweet. And how lucky he is, indeed!
texasblu
Very preceptive child – it’s always nice to know a teacher they love is sticking around… 🙂
risingrainbow
I remember that post. I was so glad I didn’t have that experience to go through. What a nightmare. She sounds like a great teacher. I’m glad your son gets her for another year.