Day 30: Triplets

My contract at Eastmont Middle School ended as of June 7, 2011—A day that turned out to be sadder than necessary.  Middle school special education was going to be a thing of the past for me. As I was gathering the last few things from my desk—tokens that I've collected from the kiddos over the year—the teacher turned to the class and said, "Everyone be sure to thank Miss Megan when you say goodbye. It's her last day."

Up until this moment, I had been okay with it being my last day. I was sure that the copious amounts of high (behavior-problem-inducing) energy that comes during the last week of school was going to be enough to send me running out the doors as soon as my morning shift was over. But as soon as the teacher made a spectacle of my leaving, all bets were off. I went around to each of the kiddos, and gave them a high-five (hugs aren't allowed) and a mini chat, pointing out the outstanding progress they had made over the course of the school year.

I got to H.'s desk. H. is a quiet kiddo who, at all costs, keeps to himself. He's soft spoken but writes phenomenal stories of the adventures he goes on in his own imagination . He's a tiny thing, no taller than the file cabinets that are next to his desk and he's skinny.

"So why are you done?" he asked in his barely audible voice.

"H., you'll love this...I'm going to go work with newborn triplets now," I whispered in attempts to make my rounds less disruptive than they had already become.

"MISS MEGAN," he said in a whisper yell. "You remember that I'M a triplet, right?"

"And a mighty fine one, at that," I responded.

"I was the fist one born. I'm the oldest." 

" I bet your brothers both look up to you, H. I know that I do."

And with that, I put my hand out and waited for a high-five. I left it there for a few moments until it was obvious that I was left hanging. I wasn't surprised. H. is really sensitive to input. He hates touching things. He's created a safe cocoon and doesn't like when it is disturbed. 

"It's okay if you don't want to give me a high-five," I said. "I'm sure going to miss you bud."

I turned my back to him as I headed to the next student's desk. Just as I turned away, he got out of his seat and flung his arms around me.

"Thanks for being my friend, Miss Megan." 

It's an understatement to say that I lost it. 

And although I no longer work with my sweet triplet H., I have found myself snuggled up with another one. 

Baby G.

I think baby G. knows magic. He did this trick, within the first 10 minutes of knowing him, where he grimaced in his sleep. He followed it up with a groggy grin. And that was it, he got me hook like and sinker. He put a spell on me. I'm nuts about this little person. And to think that that there are two more coming to join the fun. I can hardly stand it!