My Best Day So Far

I work as a sub for the school district here in town. Because I don't have a 4 year degree, I can't sub as a teacher in a classroom. I can, however, sub for the numerous secretaries, paras and lunch ladies. Today was my favorite day so far. I have subbed in the lunchroom...not my favorite. I have subbed in the Counseling Office...not bad...got to wear cute clothes. I have subbed for several different paras. Usually I sub for a lady that works with a girl that is severely autistic and has a learning delay. She is hard to work with. Picture an 8 year old girl with the mentality of an 18 month old. It is a wrestling match most of the day. Today I got to work with 2 girls. Carly is 5. This is her first year in kindergarten...most of the kids I work with have 1 or 2 years under their belts. She has a BIG smile...when she chooses to show it to you. She is an angel with a learning delay and other issues due to the substances her Mom chose to ingest during pregnancy. As long as we were moving forward she was fine. To change direction caused too much stress and we had to really work for a seamless transition. She is undeniably sweet and such an angel. The other girl is Mary Jane. She will be 6 tomorrow and this is her second year in kindergarten. She is a bright girl with some autistic tendencies. Transitions for her are really hard, so is not being chosen or not winning at a game. If she is over-looked too many times by the teacher she WILL have a melt down...and she did. wow. But the funniest thing happened during her melt down. I felt my Mom there...no, I haven't finally slipped over to the dark side...she was there. This morning I felt I needed to pray for my Mom's spirit to be with me. I do that sometimes if I miss her or if I know I'm going to have a rough day or if I need her special kind of guidance. (If you don't know, my Mom worked with kids with special needs for the State of Idaho for many years. She loved her work with the kids and was loved in return for her efforts.) While Mary Jane was in the midst of her VERY LOUD melt down I was at a loss of how best to calm her. My Mom's voice whispered in my head some simple directions. Sure enough, it worked. We skipped going back to her regular classroom and headed to the resource room for a little more of a contained atmosphere. She started to trip back down "melt down lane" and the head of the Special Ed department did the same things that I was doing not minutes before. I was elated...and I was humbled. I have a loving Father in Heaven who knows my needs and will bless me when I need it. I feel like I accomplished something with Mary Jane today. Not a bad day for a sub.