We reached the day of E-man's big performance. He did a fabulous job! He didn't throw up and he made people laugh two things we were all worried about. I know I've been spending a lot of time and hype on this event but truly you can not imagine the significance of this simple performance.
I really wanted to share the video with you. (however I am techincally inept and Blogger doesn't want to load what I have in less than 12 hours!)
I do however know how to give credit where credit is due and there is someone due a lot of credit...
The Story of Our Ms. McK
The end of the school year came much more quickly than I had anticipated, life has a way of cruising on fast forward between March Break and those final days of June. Somewhere around the middle of May, I realized that our family would be losing a very important member within a matter of weeks. No, I'm not sending Michael on a cross country motorcycle trip or signing up a teenager for bootcamp. We are loosing a teacher. This, to a lot of people, would not seem very significant, teachers come and go. I've been guilty of sending of the obligatory end of year tissue stuffed gift bag in years gone by. I've bid many teachers a happy summer and never given them a second thought. There have even been teachers that I could not wait to free my children from! This year however is going to be one of the hardest, and I've been wracking my brain for weeks trying to figure out just how I am going to say thank you to E-man's teacher. There just doesn't seem to be a gift that captures the depth of gratitude while hinting at the 'we'll miss you' factor. E-man thought that a Starbucks card and a hand written note would capture his sentiment, so we made that happen.
For me there had to be something else. This young woman has epitomized the calling of teacher. In a perfect world all kids should have a teacher like Ms. McK and all families should be so lucky.
Ms. McK has been E-man's teacher for 2 straight years, she has spent more time with him than his own family when you add up all of those teaching hours! Math, reading, environmental studies have been delivered expertly, just as you would expect from a teacher dedicated to her craft. It is however those 'other' things that have left a permanent impression on our hearts...
The way Ms. McK helped E-man launch and develop the Lego club at school. How she gave up her lunch one day each week so that a group of kids could play with building blocks and E-man could experience success in his venture.
The look on E-man's face when he looked up from the ice during his hockey fundamentals program to see his Ms. McK huddled in the frozen bleachers cheering him on.
The stories shared around our dinner table about the skydiving and camping adventures of Ms. McK.
The look of shear joy when E-man discovered that he would be in Ms. McK's class for a second year. Along with that look came a sigh of comfort, like letting out a breath he had been holding for far too long; everything was going to be okay for grade 3 just like it was for grade 2.
I'm going to remember those poor ladies in the school office who watched Ms. McK, E-man and myself share a few tears and a hug when our family pet Zipper past away last fall. (I'm sure there was some strange talk around the water cooler that day!)
Perhaps the most significant mark Ms. McK has left was witnessed at the end of E-man's performance. She has been a contributor to E-man's success, she has helped him build his confidence and talked him through those migraine inducing events. E-man has had someone comforting to turn to for support in the absence of his family. He has flourished in the environment provided by Ms. McK into a young man confident enough to face down his nerves, knowing that he has the strength but also that should he fail, it will be okay and there will be people around the boost him back up again.
I watched with a lump in my throat, as after his performance as Ms. McK left her seat and headed to where E-man exited the stage. There she was with a hug and a smile and her praise for a job well done. I knew then that my gift would be to dedicate this post and video (when & if I ever get the darn thing to load!)to her. A very big part of the young man you see in that video belongs to Ms. McK.
I didn't head upstairs after the performance to share my thanks. We are saying good bye to Ms. McK but Ms. McK is saying good bye to 20 something other kids who have benifited from the 'all in' teaching style of this fabulous young woman and well she certainly didn't need blubbering me in her face, making that event any easier. Staying away was the best thing I could do.
Our Family gratitude for Ms. McK today! Wishing you a summer of fun and relaxation. Rejuvenate those batteries another lucky group is waiting for you in 2 short months!
Michelle
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