Saturday, December 15, 2007

Some of the strongest kids

....are kids who are dealing with, or who have dealth with, catastrophic illness. We have a little girl at our elementary school who is going through cancer treatment, and the last time I saw her, she was in a wheelchair. Today at the Christmas concert, not only was she not in a wheelchair, she was not wearing a hat or scarf or a wig, her beautiful bald head glowing in the fluorescent lighting. She reminded me of Melissa Etheridge - fighting against her illness, loud and proud! This sweet little girl in our school is in the fifth grade, just on the verge of appearance really mattering to these kids. And yet, here she was, proudly carrying this gorgeously white head of hers, like it was all the rage. And yet, it was more than that, really. She really had that attitude of not caring what people thought. And that, to me, is the best place to be. I love kids (and adults, too!) that can wander through their days, not so obsessed with 'oh no, am I wearing the right brand of jeans, and oh no, did I curl them up just so - just like everybody else?' (Yeah, I know - curling up your jeans was from the 50's, the 80's, and for a short time a couple years ago - definitely not now! Hey - it was just an example!)

Seeing this girl today really made me feel good. It is like, just being in the presence of such beauty and strength, we are ourselves uplifted, some little bit.

I don't know what all kind of treatments she had, but, I know she is on the road to recovery. And I'll just bet that a good part of the reason for that is the strength of her spirit!

2 comments:

Dorothy said...

We can only wonder what pain emotionally and physically this little angel is experiencing. This is a good post, helping us remember who we are and what life can be.

Thanks for sharing and thanks for stopping by my site.

Dorothy from grammology
remember to call gram
www.grammology.com

Unknown said...

Thanks for stopping by my site, too, Dorothy! And yes, I can't imagine what all she's gone through!!