spirit

thank you, andrea, for putting me in the christmas spirit with your words and video link!

getting there

the red and green sugar
has been swept off the floor.
red hots that melted
in a puddle of sugar cookie frosting
have been scraped from the
desktops.

"maria and jose'"
asked for shelter as we
went from one classroom to another,
passing out treats and singing
"o pueblecito de belen"
in little excited voices,
knowing that our posada would end
in the demolition of our carefully packed pinata.

our interview questions for the january webcam meeting
of the second-grade esl students in texas
wait in a pile on my desk for our return:

"do you really put your shoes outside for the three wise men to fill?"
"aren't you afraid someone will steal your shoes?"
"do you celebrate las posadas?"
"where do you sleep?"
"do you celebrate our lady of guadalupe like we read in the books?"

grades have been recorded and
our stained-glass windows have been taken down.

i will spend the next three weeks of this session break
building on the hope that we will learn to take care of each other.
someday.
i will reflect and research and pull on every creative resource i can
to make next session better than any winter session ever.
i will remember how far we have already come
as i see each shortie's face in my dreams.

with much sadness...

i am posting this from an email sent out from my school.
some of you are on that email list and may have already heard this news.
i have not written in the last week as my heart has been full of sadness for my friend.

Dear Friends,

As you may have heard, our kindergarten teacher, Marsha Cozart, lost her three year old son when he was hit by a car in his stroller last Friday afternoon. Her mother, who was with him, was injured. We have all felt overwhelmed by this incredible tragedy and have been looking to help in any way possible. Due to funeral expenses (there was no life insurance policy) and medical expenses (her mother didn't have health insurance), we have established a memorial fund to help the Cozart family meet these financial needs in the midst of their grief. If you wish to make a contribution you can send checks payable to:

New Song Community Learning Center
1530 Presstman St.
Baltimore, MD 21217

Please write Elijah Cozart Memorial Fund in the memo line. Donations will not be tax deductible because they are going to an individual.