Wednesday

The “pit” returned. (See "Tuesday" post)

After dinner last night, it occurred to Allie that even though she had Ms. Gregg as her new teacher, she wouldn’t also stay with Mrs. Georgeff… and it broke her little heart. We cuddled on her bed together as she sobbed into my shoulder about how she’d be missing all the other kids’ “name days,” about how she was nervous about things being different in her new class, about not being able to play with Caitlin or Rori on the playground anymore, about her fears that her new teacher would be “hard,” and about how much she loved Mrs. Georgeff. My heart ached for her. All this I knew she would feel—I had felt it before, too. Her little face was red and splotchy by the time I had her get in the bath, telling her a bath would help her feel better. And it did—it cleared her head a bit. When we said our family prayer that evening before bed, I prayed to Heavenly Father that He would help Allie to have fun in her new class and to make new friends. In her own personal prayer in her bed she prayed for the same things, and when she finished I leaned in and whispered to her that “I knew” Heavenly Father would help her through tomorrow, that He would help her to enjoy it. She smiled at me, and squeezed her arms around my neck.

And this morning she was happy. A bit slow and sluggish, but still happy. She smiled and giggled the whole walk to school. We walked past Mrs. Georgeff’s class to see a “former” classmate waiting for the door to open. As she walked by, she said, “Hi Tyler! I’m in a new class now.” He looked after her, confused, and I repeated to him what she had said. His eyes drooped, as he watched her walk away, and he let out a small, “Aw…” He liked her and would miss her. I can’t blame him—Allie’s a pretty cool kid. Ms. Gregg opened her door, and Allie did not hesitate one bit as she walked in the door. As I turned to leave, I peered through the window to see her sitting at her desk, bouncing in her seat, an excited smile on her face.

That little girl was absolutely devastated last night—declared to me she didn’t want to go to school anymore. But through her tears, she had faith the Lord would help her to enjoy herself in spite of her sadness.
What an amazing little girl.