Honoring

Last Monday was a sad day for several of the Heinisch children.  One of their elementary teachers died.  It was a tough blow for a lot in our community because she chose to commit suicide.  I decided from the beginning to be honest with my children as I know they would hear it from others soon enough.  They asked why, but didn't dwell on it for too long.  Maybe, that is because two high school students also chose suicide this year and two other students made attempts.  Or, it is because they remember her as a happy, fun, nice, energetic educator.

When Meg's friends were over the next evening, they naturally started talking about a teacher they all liked and the great stories of their "youth." Hers was the first class that I substituted in when I decided to go back to teaching.  It was such a fun class.  I shared those fond memories with the kids, and we all felt a little better. As the week wore on Meg and I debated about going to a visitation and/or funeral that we know would be extremely sad.  We both knew that we couldn't handle it, so we then spent a day thinking about ways to honor one who seemed to just love kindergarten.

Meg soon began telling a story about teasing Mrs. Nelson by asking her "are you missing, Mrs. Nelson?" in reference to one of Meg's favorite books, and then we knew - we'd donate books to the children's department at our public library in her memory.  That is where we saw Mrs. Nelson the most after Cameron and Meg left kindergarten.  She always had a smile on her face and a handful of picture books that she was checking out for her students.  That was how we wanted everyone to remember her.

So, an afternoon at Barnes and Noble was spent searching for just the right books.  Mo Willems was a favorite author of hers and treasured by he Heinisch family, so two books by him were chosen first. Then the search began for one that Meg insisted we find.  Luckily, they had one left so today we were able to hand these to our children's librarian with big smiles on our faces.

We hope that the children of Syracuse-Turkey Creek Public Library enjoy "A Big Guy Took My Ball," The Duckling Gets a Cookie," and "Miss Nelson is Missing" as much as we do.  We hope they develop the love of reading that a kindergarten teacher wanted to instill in them.