~having one last lesson to teach~

I received the nicest gift at school on Friday from a dear young girl who has been one of my students this year.  It was an unusual one, something that I had never seen done before.  She handed me a clear cellophane wrapper that contained some candy coins and a lottery ticket inside of it.  There was a cute phrase on the gift tag saying that she had "won the lotto" by being in my class this year.   

I smiled when I saw it.

I brought it home and gave it to Mike to scratch off and see if we were winners.  I didn't pay all that much attention to him as he did it.  At first he told me that he didn't think that any of the numbers matched.  Then as he looked at the card, Mike realized that we had indeed won $20 and it was a really pleasant surprise.  

I wasn't sure what I would do with the money at first.  There are always plenty of ways to spend it around our house.  A twenty dollar bill can still buy several things these days.  I decided to wait and think about it rather than cashing it in at the store.  While we were on vacation this past weekend, I had yet another idea of how to spend it and I must say that I like this idea way better than any other thing that I had thought of.

That idea is explained in the letter shown below.  I'll be mailing it to that young lady early this coming week with my thanks for her kindness and instructions for one last homework assignment that I'm giving her.

I have always maintained that the lessons of life are among the most valuable of things that children should be taught these days.  No, you won't find them listed on any of the state's standards anywhere, but it is my firm belief that you sure SHOULD.  We might be surprised at just how valuable they could turn out to be in the years ahead.

Have a great day everyone out there and if you can read the letter shown below, then as the old saying goes, "be sure to thank a teacher".

Hello dear one,

I know you will be surprised to see this letter and especially the money inside of it.  The scratch card that you gave me for a gift on Friday was a $20 winner!  Mr. Renfro and I were so surprised to see it.  I thought of a lot of ways that I could spend it like gas for when we go on vacation this year or a new pair of flip flops or even to pay a bill or something.  All of those things would have been great, except for one thing.  They would not have made me as happy as the idea that I now have come up with.  I hope that you will help me.

I tucked inside this letter five $5 bills.  You are a whiz at math so I am sure that you are wondering where the extra $5 came from.  It was my emergency money that I always kept in my desk at school in case I needed it.  Now that school is over and no emergencies have arisen, I am including it with the original winnings of your gift card. 

Here is where you come in.

Mr. Renfro and I both agree that we want you to do something special with the money.  I guess you could call this one last homework assignment but I promise you that this one is going to be a lot more fun than the usual ones are!  We want you to find five different people that you can help this summer with the cash.  That should work out with a five dollar bill given out five different times.  The possibilities are endless.  Maybe you will be at the store and standing in line with someone who looks like they could use some help in paying for the their groceries.  Give one of the bills to the cashier and tell them that you are paying forward for the person behind you.  Hey, you could pay $5 for the people behind you in the drive through at Sonic or McDonald's.  A person never knows when another person is having a bad day or something.  Imagine what a gesture such as that would feel like, both the giving AND the receiving!  I could tell you more ways but you are a very bright girl with a huge heart.  You will figure it out, I am positive.

You don't have to tell me how you gave away the money but if you'd like to, I'd be happy to hear about it.  I'm so happy that I was your teacher this year and I hope that you learned what you needed to from me.  But you know what?  Even if you should forget some of it, may I ask you to please remember the lesson that I tried to teach all of you kids, each and every day of school.  

That lesson is this.

You can be the smartest kid in class, the best mathematician or the most gifted reader in school. You can be the most awesome athlete or the best cheerleader there ever was but if your heart is not good and kind to others, then you are missing something.  One thing I learned about you from the first weeks of school is that your heart is good and kind.  I know it will ALWAYS be that way.

Have a good summer dear one and enjoy every minute of being a kid.  Although it might not seem like it at your young age, life goes quickly.  I can only imagine how wonderful yours will turn out to be.

Love to you always,
Mrs. Renfro

                                                            Once I was a kid too!