Sometimes, no matter how perfectly crafted the sentence or how compelling the verbiage, there is just no way to do justice to certain events and tie them up with a pretty bow to make sense of them and move on with clarity, acceptance, and understanding.

Several months ago Dan’s youngest daughter, Jackie, shared the amazing news that she was going to be one of the ice skaters performing in the Ice Chips 2012 Show in Boston where she lives. 2010 Olympic Champion Evan Lysacek would also be performing and we decided then and there that a visit from Florida to Boston was in order and began to make plans for our trip at the end of March. Dan’s oldest daughter, Crystal, who teaches a 3rd grade class thought it would be a wonderful idea for me to come in for a few hours the day we were scheduled to arrive as a guest author and share with the students the many steps involved in writing a book. I was looking forward to it and began to formulate a lesson plan in my mind. 

Three weekends ago on a Sunday night, Dan and I were getting ready for bed and caught wind of a freak accident whereby a car had driven off the road and hit a hotel restroom cabana here locally and killed the woman inside who was 7 months pregnant with her unborn son. Not to be disrespectful, but tragic stories seem to become part of the daily news background and don’t really connect to your own personal reality. You mutter to yourself how terrible that is, then you turn off the TV and go to bed. The next morning Dan woke up to a string of texts from Crystal – the woman and unborn child who was killed was her classroom assistant teacher who was on vacation in Florida with her husband and they were just freshening up before they headed off to the airport for home. This was real and it was unspeakably horrible with no rational explanation as to why it had to happen. No single platitude or cliché in the world could possibly justify that it was her time and that it happened for a greater cause.

Crystal was devastated and my thoughts turned to these poor kids who had to hear the news that their teacher was not coming to class ever again. How does an eight year old process this kind of information when we as adults can’t even make sense of it? Should I still meet with them, or would it be inappropriate? Crystal and I both agreed that it would still be a good idea for me to come. The kids were already looking so forward to it, and she knew that I would make certain to handle it with just the right touch. I love kids and they have always gravitated towards me because I treat them with respect.  There is nothing fake about me and kids can sense a mile away if you are genuine with them or not.

So, we decided the best course of action was to use my visit as a way to help the kids deal with any emotions they might be feeling, but could not express verbally. We came up with the concept of using the theme of my book – taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary – to come up with special memories of their late teacher and what made her so extraordinary in their minds eye. We would have them write about it, as if they were authors, and each student would have a special page with drawings or pictures to act as a chapter in the book. Eventually it would all be put together in book format, with all the traditional book elements, to be printed for her surviving husband and family members as a cherished keepsake.

Crystal and I in front of the school before I go inside and meet her class for the first time. I had no idea what to expect at this point...

I had no discernible memory of what 3rd grade was like or the general mental capacity of an 8 year old. Just what would be the yardstick I used as the intellectual tone to talk to them? We had toyed with a structured format, but as soon as I met them all, that went out the window and I knew that the best course of action was to let them take the lead. What did they want and need from me emotionally and what were they feeling? So, after the initial shock and awe the kids expressed towards Dan and I as they came galloping back into the room from recess wore off, Crystal was able to settle them so that I could begin my time with them. In their defense, Dan is a very tall, handsome, and imposing man. He is also “Miss Power’s” dad and he came in with a big camera (I mistakenly called Crystal by her first name, rather than “Miss Power” and quickly learned the errors of my way. The kids tittered like I had provided them the answer to a huge secret and I had to keep reminding myself that my step daughter was actually a respectable teacher of a class of third graders and not the woman I hung out with in my backyard tiki during the Christmas holidays when she comes to visit).

I am holding up a rough manuscript copy of the book filled with sticky notes for edits. You will note the leopard poncho on me (you can't see the leopard shoes) and my leopard print jacket that had one girl mesmerized!

I, of course, was decked out in full leopard regalia and the girls were quite mesmerized by my leopard patterned shoes and the whole look. Crystal and I saw one of the girls actually petting my soft faux fur leopard jacket and she was a tiny bit embarrassed to be caught! One of the boys asked if I was famous, so we had to deal with that aspect for a minute (I’m not). I decided the best course of action to teach them about writing was a very quick summary of where I was emotionally when I wrote the book, and I asked them if any of them had ever had a “bad” or “yucky” day. I explained to them, that sometimes it is hard to write a book when you are not feeling happy. I had lost my job and it was really scary for me. I then explained that because of my cats and how they were starting to make me feel better, that I knew I wanted to write about them and they inspired me to follow my dream of writing a book.

Me showing them how my rough hand drawings turned into the beautiful designs and artwork found throughout my book.

And that’s how it all started. The kids jumped right in and led the way for me with a wonderful barrage of questions and comments. I showed them my original ratty notebook that housed all of my handwritten notes that then progressed to a typed manuscript that was brutalized with edit after edit. I showed them my rough design drawings for the artwork and how it progressed to a more polished stage. We discussed the important need to use descriptive words and to always make sure a reader knew who the characters were so that they were never confused while reading. I asked them, what is a more interesting sentence, “The cat walked into the room to eat dinner” or, “When Zoey entered the room, her graceful and silken body low to the floor, we knew it was time to feed her dinner by the loud and menacing growling noises she was making.“ Thankfully, they all picked the second choice!

Peanut with her now "famous" number 5 marking!

The nicest part, Crystal had already shared numerous pictures and videos of the cats prior to my arrival, so they knew who the cats were and had developed a bond. They loved it that Zoey growled and they were fascinated with Peanut who was born with the number “5” on her back. One girl asked me if all cats were supposed to be born with a “5” and another was relieved that Zee and Zoey were “married.” I was very happy for this interaction, because it taught them about respecting pets and animals, but in a very friendly and informal way. The kids really enjoyed sharing pet stories and we even touched upon the fact that it was okay to feel sad about losing a pet, which tied into the loss of their teacher and letting them feel emotion and loss.

They also threw me for a loop now and then. One of them was preoccupied with how much the book cost and that is when writing became a lesson in math. They also gave me fantastic ideas for a children’s book, such as having an eagle swoop off with one of the kittens for an adventure and I got a whole classroom of kids imitating cat meows and cat growls!

Crystal is interacting with the students to help share extraordinary memories about their teacher.

After my time with them, Crystal had an interactive session with them where she asked all the kids to share out loud personal memories of why their teacher was extraordinary. She wrote the answers on the board and then the kids went back to their seats to start creating their own unique chapter. I walked around and shared one-on-one time with them individually and it really was an incredible experience. Each student was completely unique – some very timid and shy, others completely boisterous and full of non-stop questions. Some seemed to have emotional issues and others were quite mature – just like in the adult world – a microcosm of life in one little room. Crystal is going to expand on the experience until they get the book completed and I can’t wait to see what they come up with. I ended the day by passing out bookmarks and really felt a wonderful calm and happiness come over  me as all these young minds thanked me for coming to visit them.

I am completely captivated and enthralled by this amazing group of kids...

I often feel so stressed and tainted from life, that I forget just how precious our youth is. I can honestly say that I probably walked away from the experience far wiser than they, as they taught me to remember to stop and smell the roses without all the clutter of cynicism and judgement. I imagine that when they went home that it probably did not translate the same way. Probably it went more along the lines that they did not mention me to parents at all, or described me as some lady who likes cats and looks like a leopard. Or maybe all they remembered was some tall guy that was Miss Power’s dad… Oh well, I like to think they enjoyed the time.

And while it was bittersweet and still difficult to reconcile the circumstances, the most amazing thing happened while I was there. Someone popped into the classroom with two bright balloons tied to a book. Apparently the school had won a March reading challenge and each classroom received a special book as a reward. I said to them all, this is the perfect example of an ordinary day becoming extraordinary and I almost felt for a brief moment, that it was their beloved teacher from above stopping by to say she appreciated our efforts, that she was so proud of her students, and that she wanted everyone to be happy and to move on with their lives, because the memory of her would always stay in their hearts…