There are those precious moments

I was filling in as a reading volunteer at Edwards elementary today for a friend of ours who is struggling with some health issues following a kidney transplant a year ago. He has two Latino boys about 9 or 10 whom he reads with; Roberto and Javier. Both are good readers and it is fun to listen to them read with their Hispanic dialect.

Most of the books have very lively art in them. There is always, or so it seems, a picture of a cat to help tell the story....frightening picture? Easy, just throw in a caricature of a cat with humped back...fur sticking out everywhere. As we came across one of these pages I said to Roberto, "That is one scared gato."

He broke out laughing, "You speak Spanish." I quickly scanned the page for something else I might know and as luck would have it there was a plate of eggs on a breakfast table. "Yea," I replied, "Huavoes," pointing to the picture. He cracked up.

Quick as a whip he pointed to a little container also on the table that had the characteristic shape of yogurt...and had the word printed on the front. "What is that?" he asked. "Yogurto," says me. We both had a big belly laugh.

But that is not the reason I wrote today.

Roberto left laughing and Javier came in equally skilled at reading, but somewhat less outgoing. Right in the middle of reading about the Appalachian Mountains (a book he chose, not me) the fire alarm (drill) sounded. We listened to the teacher's directions and went quietly outside in the 35 degree sunshine.

On the way back in as we walked silently through the double doors and past the office I felt a tug on my sweater. I blew it off as someone just brushing into me (I did not feel any power leave me so I knew it was not a sick person and I was not feeling very Jesus-like.)

Then there was a second, harder tug, so I spun on my heels and there stood Truman with a big smile on his face, lips tightly sealed so as not to break the no talking rule of fire drills.
But I could not keep it in. "Javier, this is my grandson,Truman," I blurted out. Tru's diminutive teacher was now standing next to us and in silence, she too just beamed.

I could hardly finish my reading with Javier. I wish I had my camera to capture the expressions on everyone's face...especially Tru's. I guess you just had to be there.