Then I received a phone call from Hope's teacher. She was bad at school. I mean SUPER BAD. When the teacher says things like "in the ten years I've been teaching I've never seen a kid act this badly" you know your kid has been a terror. I was humiliated, angry, and more than upset. I left the coffee shop, talked with Sam, and then Hope was disciplined. And, yes, she got a spanking. Sam and I were upset and stressed and stayed awake nearly the entire night trying to think of what to do. Hope is good about 90% of the time, but when she is bad..... She is REALLY bad.
I berated myself. I complained. I sulked around the house lamenting my embarrassment and marred relaxation time. I worried and worried about what to do. I spent a good hour constructing an email to the teacher. Then something happened to change my perspective.
Friday afternoon, two of Sam's friends pulled up in front of the house, his friend Mike who lives in Connecticut and his friend Issac. Sam walked out the door to excitedly greet his friends. When he saw their faces he knew something was terribly wrong. Then Isaac told him that his four-year-old daughter, Amoree, died on Monday.
Amoree was a special needs child and had several medical problems. Hope adored her, Hope would push her around in her chair throughout our apartment complex and show her the neighborhood puppies. Although Amoree couldn't see well, she would turn her face in Hope's direction when Hope was speaking to her and positively beam with happiness.
Isaac and his wife Jaime aren't sure what happened. Amoree was doing much better and eating solid foods and didn't seem ill. When they went to check on her Monday morning, she was gone.
That night Sam and I went to Amoree's home to be with her parents, look through photo albums, and talk about the good memories. I truly didn't know what to say, so I just dispensed hugs.
This has put everything in perspective for me. I may be stressed about Hope's behaviors and worried about her at school, but those are temporary problems that can be worked through. Hope is alive and with me and I love her more than anyone. I want to just hug her and hug her and never let go.
2 comments:
I'm so sorry to hear this sad news. My deepest sympathy goes out to the family. What a sweet baby girl.
Sometimes with tragedy, comes realization of blessings. Hugs to you. XOXOX
Oh, man. That's terrible. My best goes out to you and Amoree's family.
I've had many a day with my kiddo where I've had to stop and sit down and go, "I would MUCH rather be going through toddler hell with you right now, than to not have you at all."
It really helps me get through the hard times.
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