It’s the small things that get you sometimes.
Due to a school construction project, the last several weeks Carson has been bringing home some things stored in his locker. At one point, we noticed many things did not appear to belong to him, such as a bag full of soft, squishy toys and about 10 books, all of the Guinness Book of World Records variety. While he likes these sorts of things tremendously, we knew they were not his.
When we pointed out these were not his belongings to Carson’s teaching team, it was reported back something along the lines of, “Oh the other kids brought them in for him along the way.”
This was one of those special moments, which serve as further realization there is so much good in this world including in middle school. For middle school kids to gift these items to Carson is special. There is a meaning behind these gifts.
When we opened the bag and found two large soft, squeezable pencils, Pam and I had to laugh. There have been several instances over recent months when Carson finished his assignment in class and began tapping his pencil on his desk. When asked to stop, he refused, tapping harder on his desk. Things escalated from there with unfortunately a couple instances when our kid lost his cool and the room having to be cleared for safety. It’s tough to hear. For an impacted kid or two to either buy or hand down these soft squeezable pencils to Carson is an incredible gesture.
Additionally, for weeks to help Carson get through his day, we would send him to school with some of his favorite books. He likes the Guinness Book of World Records and other books along those lines. After school one, I was wondering why his book bag was so heavy. I pulled out six of these types of books including a 2007 Guinness Book of World Records. When we asked his teachers, it was the same answer – kids had passed them along to him because they know he enjoys them.
This is generosity, understanding and empathy at its greatest. The mantra of “choose kindness” appears to be alive and well with our kid’s classmates.
