Silver Lining

12:35 pm

Today, I stood in my classroom, trying to keep the chaos intrinsic with an elementary school classroom from exploding into madness. As I stood there I told my little munchkins that I was leaving and would be back tomorrow. Being curious creatures they wanted to know why. And being an open and honest adult, I told them.

2:30 pm

I took the afternoon off to run Reba into the vet clinic. I also brought my new kitty (I'm leaning towards Oscar right now.) with me for his first shots and a check up. Little kitty is doing good. He had ear mites which grosses me out but isn't the end of the world. His brothers were actually at the clinic and were going to go live with one of the vet techs. When Sam (vet) took a look at Reba's tooth she agreed it looked pretty ugly. So ugly that they did some juggling of the schedule and booked her for surgery on Tuesday. Given the fact that they are booking spay/neuters 7 weeks in advance right now, a week wait is pretty short. Reba is soon to be short one canine tooth. This will cut her training short for a while. No fetching balls or chasing sheep (don't want to risk a bite or kick) until her mouth heals.

12:38 pm

As I stood, gathering my purse, bag and laptop, one of my young students sidled up to me. She stood there looking up at my face. (I'm 5'8" so tall when compared with a child.) Pausing I looked at her, asking what I can do for her. Her response was to nestle her little body up against mine, wrapping her arms around my waist. Thanking her, I rubbed her back for a moment. Pulling away, she asked "See you tomorrow?" Smiling I replied "See you tomorrow." The little doll knew I was worried and was comforting me. And in the morning I'll give my class the "Reba Update" because it matters to them. They want to know how she's doing too.

6:39 pm

And that my friends, is the silver lining. You never, truly know who, how or when you touch another. But today, I knew I touched someone, that I mattered, would be missed, and because I mattered, I had reached them. My actions and choices have the power to impact and influence others. How I choose to live my life does matter. The ripple effect.

Have you touched someone lately? Pay a kindness forward.