Good Deed(s)

Yesterday I was with Mom Stephens shopping for a dress for the upcoming nuptials of Bob Otto & Linda. We were in the Bergners in Marketplace Mall heading up the escalator when I spotted this adorable, yet incredibly freaked out little kid at the top of the down escalator. His dad & brother were on the escalator and this kid was hollering in a very panicky tone that they knew that he was afraid of heights and was scared of the escalator.

I felt so sorry for him. He looked so upset. Well, when we got to the top of the up escalator I went to him and asked him if I could help him. I told him in a calm voice that if he held my hand I'd help him on to the escalator and then he'd be with his dad in no time.

He looked up at me with these BIG eyes and grabbed my hand. We both took a step forward & were on the escalator. At 1st I figured that I could just hop off again once he was on, but he held onto my hand for all he was worth, and I had to ride down with him. When we got to the bottom I handed him off to his dad, who thanked me for helping, and then rode back up to meet up with mom.

Such a simple thing, but that may have made his day just a little less stressful, and if it did then I'm glad I was there to help.

Funny how those small things that we do to help others also make us feel like the world is a better place too?

Oh, in other news - LD & I went bowling tonight - we bowled 3 games. He won two (claimed he was channeling the DUDE) then he let me win the last game (I think by then his White Russian had really kicked in!) We'll have to have a rematch again sometime soon.

Finally, there is this approach that we are all supposed to be trying at school this year. It is called the Nurtured Heart approach to dealing with kids. Instead of focusing on the negative (the stuff they screw up with) we are to focus on the positive. It is more complex than that, but that is the gist. One of the buzz phrases is "building their inner wealth". Well, I've been working to build inner wealth for my students & I got my inner wealth built today too as the principal told me that she really liked what she saw happening in my classroom today. :) It is nice to hear that so early on in a school!