Post by teacherabc on Jul 30, 2014 22:13:10 GMT -5
I just wanted to "introduce" an amazing person--an old friend that I reconnected with. The last time we had seen each other, until two months ago, was when our kids, who are the same age, were little. We met in the park and became friends. I had a babysitter, which we started to share. Our babysitter began to notice that her son wasn't moving around the way he should. It was around that time our lives moved in different connection.
We reconnected through Facebook. Two months ago, she came to visit me after work, and met some of my students since she was in the area. What I learned about her and her life and her positive outlook is just amazing to me. It turned out that her son has cerebral palsy and several other conditions. Although he is 21, he functions as a three or four year old. While she and her husband tried to keep him at home, they were unable to care for him and they had to find a residential school for him and he is in Pennsylvania. They went on to have a daughter, who is fine, and is in college in Germany. This woman, who was working as a token booth clerk, somehow, in the interim, gone back to college and finished. She subsequently became a Special Education teacher through the Teaching Fellows program, just like I did (indeed, we followed parallel paths, she only a short time before me). She teaches autistic teenagers in a District 75 school in Brooklyn. At some point, one of her students threw a chair at her and she became severely injured and was out of work for nine months. She did not become bitter about what happened, even though she still suffers from back pain, and returned to work, eager to do so. At the same time, her husband had an accident and he became disabled. Their marriage did not survive the strain and they are in the midst of a divorce. Throughout, however, they are acting like reasonable individuals and come together when they need to to provide what they need to for their kids.
Many people, facing these challenges, would became bitter and closed off. Not this woman. She is the friendliest, warmest and most positive individual I have "met" in a long time and we will be seeing each other again soon, because I need people like this in my life.
We reconnected through Facebook. Two months ago, she came to visit me after work, and met some of my students since she was in the area. What I learned about her and her life and her positive outlook is just amazing to me. It turned out that her son has cerebral palsy and several other conditions. Although he is 21, he functions as a three or four year old. While she and her husband tried to keep him at home, they were unable to care for him and they had to find a residential school for him and he is in Pennsylvania. They went on to have a daughter, who is fine, and is in college in Germany. This woman, who was working as a token booth clerk, somehow, in the interim, gone back to college and finished. She subsequently became a Special Education teacher through the Teaching Fellows program, just like I did (indeed, we followed parallel paths, she only a short time before me). She teaches autistic teenagers in a District 75 school in Brooklyn. At some point, one of her students threw a chair at her and she became severely injured and was out of work for nine months. She did not become bitter about what happened, even though she still suffers from back pain, and returned to work, eager to do so. At the same time, her husband had an accident and he became disabled. Their marriage did not survive the strain and they are in the midst of a divorce. Throughout, however, they are acting like reasonable individuals and come together when they need to to provide what they need to for their kids.
Many people, facing these challenges, would became bitter and closed off. Not this woman. She is the friendliest, warmest and most positive individual I have "met" in a long time and we will be seeing each other again soon, because I need people like this in my life.
