My Y Story
We all have memories of special people that have touched us in one way or another. I am no exception. Having taught at Small Fry for 20 years I’ve seen hundreds of children come and go, all special in their own way. Every so often there is someone that I still think about, and Jason is one of them. I had his older sister and knew the family very well. Mom and I had talked a lot prior to school starting so I was very aware of how anxious Jason would be. I kept assuring her thinks would be fine.
Everyday Jason was handed to me in tears, and always with a stomach ache. He was nervous about everything…which hook to put his coat on, what if he hated snack, what if it was a gym or swim day, what if mom forgot to pick him up. I was his only friend until December and then Christmas vacation came, and we were back to square one.
I taught him how to take deep breathes and to blow out slowly when he felt overwhelmed. Another teacher taught him how to raise his arms in the air when he felt tears coming, promising that this too would help.The children in class were aware, after awhile, of how anxious Jason could get. At circle time I’d talk about why we come to school…to learn. We talked about how we all have different things to learn. We talked about taking risks, about trying our best, that we are all special in different ways, that we were like a family and had to support each other. Jason was smart, really smart, with no confidence so I made him my circle time assistant. He shined!
Jason started being proud of the kids that learned colors, shapes and letters. They too were proud when he took part in gym class the first week in February. Then came playing with “the boys” on the playground and going down the slide for the first time…it was March. The best day was in June when Jason decided to put his bathing suit on and do a “toes only day” during swim class. The class cheered and I ran to Roche Brothers for ice cream!!
Well, Jason came back the next year and continued to soar. His parents were so proud on Graduation Day as he held the flag that we all pledged, sang every song and marched right up to receive his diploma. I swelled with pride too. After the class party and lots of hugs and happy tears we said our good byes. True to their word, they called me after his first day in kindergarten. He had a good day, not great, but good and felt positive that the year would be fine. They also told me that when Jason grew up he wanted to come back to Small Fry as Mr. Jason, the school principal. I told them I’d be waiting!!
– YMCA Employee
