Five for Friday... Five for Boston

I actually wrote this post last Thursday... And then suddenly it seemed like the world was turned upside down... in the span of a few days, so much changed. However, some things DIDN'T change.

Now that a week has passed, I feel like I can post the feelings that I had typed on that evening that now seems so long ago...

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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Today, as I reflect upon the week that has passed, my heart is sad for Boston.

Artwork by Nikki at Melonheadz

Each morning when I have come to school this week, I have seen the flag, and I have remembered. I have thought a lot about the people whose lives were affected by the events in Boston on April 15th.

But, Boston is a city with historical strength. Bostonians have displayed pride and perseverance since colonial times. Consequently I wasn't completely surprised when I clicked on this video from a Boston Bruins hockey game that I found on the front page of an online newspaper .

While the singer may have expected to be singing a solo, it was clear that the crowd had other ideas. I've watched the video numerous times... and I have cried every time. Sometimes strength comes from people who have endured tragedy together...

And then there was more tragedy. In the same week, sadness gripped Texas as a fertilizer plant exploded and more lives were lost, more people were injured, and more hearts were aching. It just seemed too much too soon. Just. Too. Much. Hurt.

And although the heartbreak of the explosion in West, Texas may have gotten a bit lost in the national focus on the events in Boston, again people came to together, as Texans do. They rallied together. They leaned on each other. They cried together. And they worked with each other and for each other. All over again, I was overwhelmed by the strength of character of so many people...

Artwork by Nikki at Melonheadz

Strength of character. That's where I have been willing my mind to go. I hope that eventually the images of these tragedies will fade into the background of my mind and that other memories will take their place.

But there is one picture that will stay with me longer than the others... this sweet face. The face of Martin Richard. A pillar of character at the tender age of eight, a young person who made it clear that we can learn a lot from a third grader. This wonderful boy wanted "No more hurting people" and, instead PEACE. This boy was not there amongst his classmates when they returned to school... What did they think? What did they wonder?

This photo was "borrowed" from the Boston Post. I hope they will forgive its use in my efforts to celebrate Martin...

I hope that we will remember Martin fondly and that we will work hard to teach other children to value "No more hurting people." 

I feel more strongly than ever that my job extends far beyond teaching algebra, and earth science and complex sentence structures. And I feel more strongly than ever that I have a responsibility, indeed an obligation to help children learn to value one another. 

Martin's legacy can be celebrated with each child who recognizes the importance of community, and caring, and peace...

Strength of character. With that picture of Martin in my mind and on my heart, I need to work harder to help build that strength of character in other students that Martin recognized was so very important...