Wenzdai

At the school I work within, there is a child by the name of Wenzdai. She is in one of the lower grades and since I serve the higher grades and their families I don't see her much. Last year we crossed paths a few times in the lunchroom. At the time she was in 1st grade. She started half way through the school year.

On her first day last year, I walked up and introduced myself. She had a crazy looking 80's haircut looking like she was out of Kajagoogoo or something of the sort. After my introduction to her, she smiled wide and a very noticeable little, black, pointed tooth greeted me. She showed me a note that her mother wrote to her buried underneath her sandwich. It said something along the lines of, "I love you and I hope you have a great day". She was very proud of her note. I asked her what she had brought for lunch and she itemized her lunchbox contents one at a time. A pickle, a bag of mashed up salt and vinegar potato chips, and a sandwich. I asked her what kind of sandwich she had and she opened the bread. The two slices peeled away yielding a white, sticky substance which she indicated was, of course, marshmallow. Hence, the black tooth.

Anyway, every few days last year I would stop by at lunch and say hello to her and she would show me her strange lunches and a note from her parents. Dressed in knee high leather boots no matter the rest of the outfit, she would skip to and from wherever I would see her.

A year later I rarely see her at all. The only time we cross paths is first thing in the morning at around 8:30 while all of the kids are filing into school. I stand outside of my office and greet them all with a "good morning" and a big smile. Most smile back and mutter something along the lines of "good morning to you" but this varies depending upon their age and social development. Sometimes it sounds more like, "What, oh, hi" or "Mmmhmmmrrr" or "He hit me!". Anyway, everyday Wenzdai sneeks up to me while I'm greeting all the kids, sometimes without me even noticing, and she mugs me with a hug. What a great kid and a great way to start my day. From there usually my day is filled with dealing with problems which you would hope kids didn't ever have to deal with much less when in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. These problems range from bullying, to not enough money at home to eat/dress appropriately, to issues of abuse and neglect.

Thanks Wenzdai.