I'm So Glad You're Here

On Friday I thought Marcus, my five year old, was sick.   His big brother was home with strept throat, again, and so Friday morning, when Marcus reported a sore throat, I was pretty sure it was strept.

It wasn't.  My guess is that it was a sore throat that landed somewhere between I-Don't-Want-To-Miss-Sick-Time-T.V. and sympathy pains.

So, at 10:15 a.m. Marcus was heading to school with a clean bill of health from his pediatrician.  He was petrified to enter class late with a Pink Slip.  In fact, most of the ride to school from the doctor's office consisted of Marcus using his most serious voice to ask every possible permutation of the question, "How does the Pink Slip work?"

When we arrived at school, we left big brother in the car, walked into the office, got the dreaded Pink Slip, and headed down to his classroom.  Marcus drew up the courage to carry the Pink Slip the final ten steps into the room, we knocked, and then walked in.

The room smelled heavenly.  Cinnamon.  Warm apples.  There were children sitting at tables with those serrated plastic white knives you use at family reunions and they were all cutting apples into the tiniest pieces you've ever seen.  One child stood near a crock pot with Mrs. Pistell, the angel who teaches the class.  Right about then, one boy in Marcus' class saw him standing at the door and he shouted, "Marcus!  It's YOU!  I'm so glad you're here!"  He stepped over and gave him a bear hug like only a five-year old boy can give.  Then, Jamie, Marcus' best friend leapt out of his chair and ran over to give him a hug too.

Within ten seconds almost every single child was out of his or her seat and surrounding Marcus to hug him hello.  At first, Marcus, a child who loves attention from his family and is still undecided about attention from large groups, stood there with arms stiff as sticks down by his side.  He looked back at me as three little girls and boys in various shades of brown hugged him at the same time, as if to ask, "What do I do?"

I wanted to say, "I'm not exactly sure what you do when twenty or so classmates let their hearts overflow all over you.  I think you just hug them back with all the love your arms can hold."

What I did say was, "Marcus, the doctor said you're not sick.  You can hug them back!"

He did.  He announced with great authority, "I was just at the doctor's office.  I'm not sick."

As I backed out of the room the kids were leading Marcus to the fun of cutting apples, the angel Ms. Pistell and her assistant angel Ms. Marti were smiling with pride at the love they had created a home for, and my eyes spilled over.

And now, as I write, I've just decided that the next time I feel like leaping up to hug hello someone I just saw the day before, I'm going to do it!  I'm going to hug them like I haven't seen them for two weeks at LEAST.  I'm going to smile and tell them, "Oh!  It's YOU!  I'm so glad you're here!"