Children are resilient

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, January 24, 2018

They say children are resilient, but I learned that lesson well this week.

Though, I’ve been here for three weeks, Monday was a new beginning for my 8-year-old, who had been shuffled from aunt to grandmother and family friends during the transition of moving from Andalusia to Brewton.

During out talks of our move to Brewton, she claimed she was excited. There were times she was even annoyed that she hadn’t gotten to come here yet.

She had even said goodbye to her friends at Straughn three times, but a few obstacles appeared in her move, and then last week’s ice storm wreaked havoc even more.

Monday morning, she was distraught about starting a new school. We all know how dramatic 8-year-old girls can be.

We went through the usual, “No one is going to like me,” and “I’m never going to make new friends” talks.

When we arrived at Brewton Elementary, she was welcomed with open arms and greeted with smiling faces.

I left a very unsure little girl at BES, but I picked up a totally different child.

“How did your day go?”

“I was fantastic, Momma,” she said. “Did you know they have music, art and computer? That’s so cool, and I made friends.”

That was music to a mother’s ears, especially when this is the third school since kindergarten because of my job.

I know that educators and even the support staff often do not get the thanks they deserve, but I wanted to give credit where credit it due.

Thanks so much to everyone who has welcomed her with open arms, put a smile on her face and made the transition seem nearly seamless.