I’ve always been a Helper.

Ask my Mom. Ask my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Capistrant.

I remember the day I came home with a note to give to my Mom, from Mrs. Capistrant. I was so excited about it. A letter. From my Teacher. It must be GOOD NEWS. Right? Well, it really came as no surprise to my Mom, but it did have Mrs. Capistrant 'fit to be tied' as my Mom told me, as she had to explain that the note wasn't really the Good News that I thought it must be.

I mean, come on. I'm in kindergarten, a bright and shining student, eager to learn new things, loved arts and craft time, tasting that glue that kept my flower collage together, nap time....oh, nap time....that cute multi-colored polka dotted beach towel that I got to pick out on my own..... who wouldn't think that this is the kind of note a child would be sent home with.

Nope. The note explained how I followed little Kenny into the boys bathroom to help him zip up his pants. And that it wasn't the first time. Maybe the 3rd? Either way, it was time for The Parent to Intervene. What I do remember is that little Kenny would always come out of the bathroom with his shirt partially tucked in, and his zipper down. Many of the other little boys were making fun of him and calling names. It hurt his feelings, and in part hurt mine too.

So I thought that by being his 'bathroom buddy' (yeah that's what I called it in kindergarten), you know like a 'hall buddy', but for the bathroom, anyway....I would remind him to zip up his pants. I said, "It's as easy as 1.2.3"! Then up I'd zip his pants.

My Mom had to explain that there are times when it is acceptable to "help" others and times when it is not. And that being Kenny's 'bathroom buddy' wasn't going to work out because he's a boy and I'm a girl. Well this got me really frustrated because I knew the other boys in class would continue to tease him and I didn't want that for him. So my Mom and I came to a solution that she said Mrs. Capistrant would like and we'd not be getting any more notes sent home from her. The plan was that I would sit next to him in class and when he'd get up to use the bathroom, I would whisper the reminder to him. It didn't take long before Kenny had it all figured out and was returning to class with his "I did it" happy face. Kenny was happy, I was happy and so was Mrs. Capistrant.

I guess the point of this story is that I love helping people. I always have. Therefore when I was deciding to Blog, and what to Blog about, I thought that if one of my 'helpful' stories, tips, suggestions, or just random thoughts put to page, would in turn help others out.

We can all find our light to help illuminate the way for one another.