 Recently one of my little one’s preschool teachers had a parent pass away. When the teacher wasn’t in class for a few days, she asked why. When told what had happened, she asked some questions and then let the topic go.Suddenly, a few days later, while riding with me in the car she asked, “Daddy, do we have any flowers in the house?”“I think so, what for, honey?” I inquired.“Well, I wanted to bring one to school for my teacher,” she answered.“Why is that, little girl?” I asked.“Because her father died, I wanted to bring her a flower,” she responded.“That’s such a sweet thing to do,” I said to her.“Thank you,” she replied.When we got home, we chose a flower and put it aside for the next morning.---------------------------------------The next morning, she got the flower to bring to her teacher. I realized that, though she had a nice thought, she didn’t have the language to present it appropriately.“Honey, here’s what you can say when you give the flower to your teacher--”I’m sorry for your loss,” I counseled.She repeated the phrase, smiled and off we went to the car.-----------------------------------------As we entered school, she waved to the administrator in the office and yelled, “Good morning!” Then while walking down the hallway to her classroom, she repeated the phrase--”I’m sorry for your loss.”As we got to the classroom, I knelt down and gave her a kiss, opened the door and let her in. Her teacher came walking over and said, “Hi, Lucy!”She stopped, looked at the teacher and said, “Good morning, I have a flower for you--I’m sorry for your loss.”The teacher knelt down and with a look of wonderment replied, “Thank you, that is such a nice thought Lucy, may I have a hug?”“Sure,” replied Lucy with a smile. Then, there was this perfect moment as teacher and student shared a hug.I smiled and slowly walked away. all content The New Parent © 2007
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