Pennies from Heaven

Recently, my family was presented with a donation check from the 2nd grade class at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School.

Each year, in preparation for their First Communion, the class does a service project - and this year they chose to raise money through a program they called "Pennies from Heaven". The money was to be collected over a period of a few months leading up to their First Communion. At the end of that time, the class decided to donate the money to a family with a child that had a medical condition. Aiden's name and information were given to the class by Ethan's preschool teacher, who has a 2nd grader in that class. And the class chose Aiden to receive the money!

I was so touched that Kathleen (Ethan's teacher) would think of us and submit Aiden's name, and also that the 2nd graders chose Aiden as the recipient. I knew I wanted to do something special to say "Thank You", so I thought what better way than to see if I could bring Aiden in to the class to do it in person. I made a few phone calls and arranged it just in time - as today was their last day of school!

When they chose Aiden, they also included handmade cards for him along with the check. They were the most precious things - made of construction paper and crayons - that said things like "We will pray for you every day", "Hope you can get better", and "You are very special and I love you".

It felt so good to be able to talk about Aiden to a roomful of impressionable 2nd graders. Their questions were very good ones including "How many surgeries has he had?", "When you go to Texas for his surgeries, where do you stay?", "Will he need more?" and "Did his brother have to have any surgery?" :) It was clear to me that the teachers had spent some time sharing things about what he's been through and showing them pictures prior to our visit. These kids were so composed and not at all afraid to be curious. They also knew compassion - you could hear it in their voices.

I was very impressed with these kids. I have to be honest, I was a little nervous about the experience, just because you never know what kids are going to say, especially when presented with something they know nothing about. But I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and realized then and there that Aiden will be just fine - even around other kids he meets in the future. I loved being able to raise awareness about his condition by talking about it at their level and also encouraging them to ask questions if they wanted to. I feel as if we are one step further in our journey. I'm so thankful that we were presented with this opportunity! The only thing I regret is not getting his picture taken with the class. I had my camera with me and forgot! :(

But once again, THANK YOU OLPH 2nd graders from the bottom of our hearts!