also been cold,, i stay in today the roads are icy hope you had a better day. going upstairs. see you in the morning. have good night. Let the weekend begin., hugs june
Hello. Friday afternoon. Friends, I can't seem to ever find a way to express all the thanks I feel or to adequately repay you for the thoughtful and loving comments that you send to me and for simply brightening my every day ! My little comments pale in comparison to the outpouring I receive. Love ya. Have a beautiful week-end. ~ Marcia
Evening., cold and raw day., expecting heavy rains tonight changing to snow tomorrow .. went to lunch with a friend had pizza. hope you had a good day.. yeah tomorrow Friday and the weekend begins. have a good night.
As
she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of
school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked
at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However,
that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his
seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
Mrs.
Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not
play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that
he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant.
It
got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in
marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then
putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.
At
the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each
child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when
she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.
Teddy's
first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh.
He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be
around.."
His
second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked
by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal
illness and life at home must be a struggle."
His
third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He
tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his
home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."
Teddy's
fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much
interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps
in class."
By
now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself.
She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents,
wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His
present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper That he got from a
grocery bag Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the
other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a
rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that
was one-quarter full of perfume.. But she stifled the children's
laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on,
and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed
after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you
smelled just like my Mom used to." After the children left, she cried
for at least an hour.
On
that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic.
Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular
attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come
alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end
of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class
and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same,
Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets.."
A
year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling* her
that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Six
years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote
that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still
the best teacher he ever had in life.
Four
years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had
been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would
soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs.
Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever
had in his whole life.
Then
four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he
explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a
little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and
favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer....
The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.
The
story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that
spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He
explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was
wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the
place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.
Of
course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the
one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was
wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their
last Christmas together.
They
hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear,
"Thank you Mrs. Thompson for* believing in me. Thank you so much for
making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."
Mrs.
Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you
have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a
difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."
(For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)
Warm
someone's heart today. . . pass this along. I love this story so very
much, I cry every time I read it. Just try to make a difference in
someone's life today? tomorrow? Just "do it".
Hello. Thursday morning. Finally a day for relaxing and simply doing what I enjoy. First part of the week I was dealing with scheduling appointments and medical tests and getting all the required paperwork done. Also had another in office visit with a doctor and a visit to the pharmacy for meds. About the time I finish up with all this I'll see the eye doctor again and begin my journey with him. Just keeping up the routine body maintenence after age 65 is a full time job. No wonder we seek to retire. LOL Hope you're having peaceful days and nights and enjoying the early days of Spring. ~ Marcia
Evening., was a nice day., went to the eye doctor's need more eye surgery so am waiting for them to call with the date. then went for coffee. Red Sox are on a roll they won 9 games in a row.
