Addie

Guy Ghj Ghj

This is a picture of my granddaughter Addie who was part of a Thanksgiving play at her school on Tuesday. I was invited to come and sat with three other adults in the front row.

Addie is, at home, a clown and a cut up. She is very friendly, outgoing and the one I can depend on to hug me every time she sees me. At school she is quiet and diligent in her work and very shy. She is like her mother was and actually, she is like I was.

The whole experience of being there took me back to being a little girl in a school and not feeling quite at home. Wanting to fit in and not wanting to do anything that would call attention to me in the wrong way. I guess this must be universal. (Except for those kids who always have their hands up - wanting to be noticed!)

After the plays we went to the cafeteria to have a feast which had been supplied by the parents. Several classes were together in the same space with teachers and parents and grandparents. It was really noisy and I realized in that moment that I had really changed over the last few years. I imagined Kacey and Lisa, who teach elementary school, and that this was normal for them. But for me, it was ALOT and I was no longer used to the noise and the energy.

Addie and I ate together and we talked. I learned afterward that I "embarrassed" her because I talked to the boys across the table from us. But really, she was the one who told them not to drink out of the drinking fountain because someone had farted into it.

Anyway, I felt blessed to be invited, to remember my own childhood and to be part of Addie's world for just a moment. I know it is not always easy to be 8 years old any more than it is always

easy to be 63. It was good to feast together.