[JustLovelyJenn]

Today I am very grateful for a life of love and relative understanding that I grew up with.

Every day I see examples in my students of how life could have been, of how it is for so many.

Yesterday one of my students mothers came to school and withdrew them from our school, without any prior notice. It turns out that this students step-father has been beating the mother. The student already deals with a number of physical and mental issues causing delays in their education and difficulty in their life. How terrible to also have to deal with the emotional effects of an abusive parent.

Today I gained a new student on a temporary basis, while his usual teacher is out with pneumonia, he refuses to work with the substitute that is in the classroom. I was briefed on the child and it made me so sad. He has physical problems which make it hard for him to write for long periods of time and so qualifies for special education even though he is academically on par with other students. What is so hard for this student is that he lives with his grandparents because his mother is a drug addict and his father is in and out of prison. Dad comes around often enough to be a bad influence, but little more.

That said, I am grateful for my Mormon, overbearing, protective, smothered upbringing. My parents love me, maybe not unconditionally but they truly love me. They always provided for me and encouraged my emotional and educational development. To many children don't get that.