About children

I have been amazed by the affection and support I have received from my young fourth grade students. I believe we don't give children enough credit when it comes to their empathatic abilities. After the first stressful week at school when we were waiting for a diagnosis I finally found it necessary to explain to my students, in simple terms, why I had missed school several times and why I wasn't always my usual cheerful self. They were interested, supportive, sympathetic and anxious to share their own stories of parents, grandparents and other family members who had experienced similar challenges.

There were so many who knew about cancer -- knew about the dangers and the fears -- who had lost people they had loved to it. Others knew about heart attacks, accidents, diabetes and more. They understood that people could become ill, get hurt, even die. They felt these things deeply.

They ask about Keith often. They ask about my mother-in-law as well. They care about more than their small, sheltered lives in school and understand the wide world, at least a bit.

I will never again underestimate a child's understanding. They are capable of so much more than we think they are. They are not afraid to show their love and affection and they want the adults in their lives to be happy.

Since that day I am calmer and more focused as a teacher. I don't have to hide my feelings every moment of the day, because they know there are big things I am worried about. Because of that shared experience it is possible to live each day from moment to moment and take care of learning new words, reading new stories, writing paragraphs and all the multitude of minutia that is a part of the elementary school day. And sometimes, we talk -- about big things like life and love and the people we care about. About the wonderful things and the sad things. About what is really important -- being a caring, loving person who takes time to empathize with others.

Kid stuff, really.