Hope
Way back in my daycare days, I worked with a woman named, Hope.
Hope.
Now there was a tough cookie to crack.
eek
At a glance, she came across as mean, as she didn’t offer much.
She was disciplined and somewhat stern in her ways
& when we first met ?
Yeah.
I was intimidated.
But, funny thing, when children and their honest to goodness, pure feelings are involved,
they ADORED Hope
& she loved each and every one of them too
& soon, she and I became an awesome tag team
& life was always pleasant in that preschool.
Did I say always ?
um
We’re talking youngsters here
& no offense kids, but some days were just plain hectic.
Hope wouldn’t put up with any nonsense though.
She had certain classroom rules that needed to be followed
& manners were extremely important to her.
Daily, she would punctuate patience,
please,
thank you,
wait your turn,
& never, ever interrupt, especially when she was teaching a lesson.
My favorite memory of my friend, Hope, is when a child would intrude.
MrsHopeMrsHopeMrsHopeMrsHopeMrsHope
an innocent soul would mutter, not realizing, she was ignoring this pestering voice on purpose.
At this point, a seasoned veteran would know not to bother Mrs Hope, that !! TEACHER !! would acknowledge as soon as she finished up her biz.
But, there was always that one who hadn’t received the memo and dared strayed into one tooooo many MrsHope-s
I can still see the kind, but patience dissolved, face of MRSHOPE as she ever so slowly turned away from what she was doing,
looked that pesky child straight in the eyeballs
and in a bold, but extremely endearing tone, say
GO. AWAY.
Go. Away.
All the time.
Every time.
GO. AWAY.
& so, they did.
Knowing, as soon as she was able, they would receive her undivided attention
& sure enough, there Hope would ASAP be, with every ounce of her T.L.C. attending to Impatient.
Oh, how I loved that woman and her old-school ways
& I often wonder how many well-mannered adults she sent out into this world.
Hope left this life years ago, but is definitely hanging around me these days.
I feel her.
She’s reminding me to stand firm.
If something is not right, don’t be afraid, speak up.
Tell it to GO. AWAY.
& so.
Hate ?
uh. huh.
I am talking to YOU.
I will not tolerated your ugliness anymore.
You are draining my positive vibe and I cannot let this happen
& since my happiness is completely and totally up to ME from now until forever when you insistently come-a-calling, what you will receive is a loud and proud GO. AWAY.
With that awesome little lady and her priceless words by my side, I’ll repeat again and again and again
GO. AWAY.
& if, despite all my warnings, you STILL persist in your persisting, Hate,
I shall offer you my undivided attention
& Love
Love.
For always.
Forever
with an endless affirmation of you can bend but never break p.s. of hope.
Yes, hope.
Stubbornly beautiful,
eternally inspiring,
endlessly polite,
Hope.
♥
Thank you, Hope.
🙂