Oh, Ye of Little Faith

Yesterday, I asked in one moment of irritation, "Where is "Joy, Peace, Goodwill to ALL Mankind?" And then, I got a huge kick in the butt. I'm no "good luck charm"... I was a ye of little faith who happened to witness a miracle someone had waited for for a long time. I'm flumoxed and absolutely honored however, that I was considered "good luck"! 
I still detest rampant commercialism, am still vaguely irritated with my family- my blood- am still saddened that I see so much pain and no outlets. But...

My Boys :)

I was feeling rotten- my little nephew (Not so little- goes to my chest & I can fit into his slippers with only a bit of heel coming out- he's going to have moose feet and rampantly overpower my size 7 narrow!) has been dealing with illness, is still working on his spectrum of the gluten free diet, in which so much has to be taken away already, and he has milk and peanut allergies, among others, just to make it complicated. He'd just got over strep, still has a good cough like an elephant seal, that rips right through anyone near by. School was tough, he's a bright, curious kid, who like Mama, (And yes, like his Aunt Beth who has known him since he was a teeny 9 lb 11 oz bundle of joy- the "I was told I would never get pregnant-miracle baby") has absolutely no filter whatsoever. Not only curious, he is sharp as a tack and has no brain-to-mouth filter. (We all occasionally suffer from our honesty, occasionally a bit of Foot-In-Mouth Disease!)  But his district wasn't really helping him. He's active. He's bright. And he gets bogged down by all of that and some racism due to him being biracial. He was going to fall through some major cracks...a smart, indeed, many times, gifted child being locked into a world of pain by educators who should know better. On the way to get him, and also pick up groceries, etc, a charter school, which around here, as in all parts of NY, is run by the State University of NY... SUNY- called--- he's IN! The waiting list is as long as my arm, and HE IS IN! He is thrilled, and so funnily mature in describing it, "Mom and I will go to work together. She is not far from MY office!" This is indeed a Christmas miracle, watching him suffer and knowing that a gifted child was falling through cracks, was going to kill me! And his mom replied, months ago, when I said "One day, he'll find a place and teachers that work with and for him" - "I'll hold you to that". I was called a "good luck charm"- I actually hear that a lot!- but I thank God, us "Ye's of Little Faith" have seen a major miracle! Here's to women with fight, pluck and tenacity, for a little guy who is unflaggingly honest and occasionally reminds me of a 50 year old man in miniature, and to, yes, his funny dog, who is sweet but piddles too much and sometimes hurts you in his exuberance! 

I occasionally teach him about cameras. He LOVES technology. He took this one... attempting to keep the darn pupper still!