Twice exceptional

Today, I managed to get green pen ink all over my face 3 separate times during my workday. After the first time, I threw the pen away, and yet — there it was. I had an extra eyebrow, I had some behind my ear, and there was a spot that made it look like I had a little Charlie Chaplin mustache.

The kicker: the pen I was using (until I tossed it in the garbage) had purple ink.

I don’t really know what else to say about that, except if you know me in real life, you’re just nodding your head like, yep, that’s Christy. Somehow, that makes sense.

***

Somehow, I’ve been out of the classroom for two years.

I ran into a former student of mine today at my University, who was there buying a sweatshirt for the start of school in a couple of weeks. Knowing he’s going to be at my University brought me SO MUCH JOY.

You see, pretty much all of my students had an impact on me. But there are, of course, a couple over the years that taught me something huge. And this particular student taught me that even if it means making some people upset, advocating for what I felt in my gut mattered.

This particular child had/has a learning disability in reading. And when he came to me in 4th-grade, he also had minutes in his IEP for math. But, as I worked with him, I realized the math diagnosis didn’t make sense. In fact, his math skills were pretty phenomenal. I began collaborating with the excellent Talented and Gifted teacher, and by the end of the year, we’d established that this student was/is “twice exceptional.”

In other words, he has a disability in reading, but is gifted in math. And now, this sweet kid is going to be a freshman in college, and my heart SOARS for him. “I don’t need to take any math,” he said to me, “I finished it all in high school by taking all those advanced classes.”

I need you to know I’m not taking credit for this. Not one bit. He has AMAZING parents and is just a really cool kid. I”m saying that I learned so much from this experience, because I really doubted it at first, but my gut was nudging me. And seeing him made me sad.

I get sad a lot about missing the students. About thinking about who I was when I was in the classroom, and how much fulfillment I got from it.

There’s no point to this, except just to tell you that, even though people thought I was brave to leave, really I’m just as confused as ever. I never feel like I did the right thing or the wrong thing, just a thing, and it’s tough on my soft little heart.

***

I’m trying to decide next steps for the most recent children’s book I’ve written. I don’t know what to do – try to find another agent? Indie publish? Quit? I’m also not saying this because I want your encouragement; I just … it’s what’s on my mind. Everything is so confusing to me right now, and I think it’s because fall is arriving, the start of a new school year, and there was a little hubbub with my father recently, which has me rattled.

I mean, obviously rattled, since I’m somehow getting green ink on my face from a purple pen, enough to make my boss wipe her screen during a zoom call, thinking it couldn’t really be me with an extra eyebrow.

LOL.

Oh, Christy.