Big heart

Steve and I always talk about Tanner and how she has such a caring, compassionate heart for someone her age. She doesn't always act or think like a 12 year old, but the way her heart is for others makes us think her heart is way beyond a typical 12 year old. Does that make sense?

Last Thursday, on our way back from KC, she called and said that she had changed her schedule at school and had dropped keyboarding. She said one of her friends is an aide in the mentally handicapped class at school. I guess her friend had mentioned that they needed some more help in the class. So Tanner went to the teacher and volunteered to help out. The teacher said she'd love to have her, so they changed her schedule and she's now an aide in Special Ed class.

Let me back up and admit, my first reaction was to get onto her because she changed her schedule without talking to me first. I didn't realize the school would let them do it, although we never got anything last year talking about electives and which classes they could/would/need for this year. Evidently you can take keyboarding in the 8th grade at Junior High, so that's why it was no big deal to drop it this year. After getting onto for changing the schedule I felt bad because she was trying to do something good and help someone else out. Typical Tanner, I'm proud to say. I apologized to her and explained that she needed to talk to us first before she changes her schedule, but at the same time, I was proud of her for wanting to help someone out.

Now back to the Special Ed class..........Tanner LOVES it. I mean, she LOVES it. There are three sixth graders and three seventh graders in the class. From how Tanner's described it, these kids are all severely mentally and physically handicapped, which doesn't intimidate or scare Tanner at all. She talks about "her kids" nonstop. I'm just so impressed with how excited she is to help out someone totally different, in all aspects of life, than she is. She rarely talks about her friend that also helps in this class, which tells me that Tanner is in there truly to help out, not just socialize with her friend.

Tanner takes these kids for walks, helps take them to the nurses office for medicine, she helps them with their lessons and helps out with whatever the teachers need her to do. She said last week one of them had a hard time sitting still, so Tanner said "Mom, I just asked her if she wanted to sit on my lap, so she did, and she finally settled down." It makes Tanner feel so good on the inside to know that she's helping out these special kids. It makes me feel good on the inside that my girl has such a big, caring, giving heart.

This all being said.........she learned a hard lesson yesterday. One of "her kids," Felipe, evidently had a seizure on Monday right as school was letting out (I had picked her up early that day). They had to call a squad, who transported Felipe to the hospital, then they flew him to Children's in Little Rock. Tanner was so upset about this. She said "Mom, I love Felipe!" I totally didn't think about when she started this, that she's never really been around handicapped kids to know that they have lots of problems and things like this happen! I felt bad because I hadn't prepared her! So we had a big talk last night about that and even about how sometimes handicapped people don't live as long as other people. I hated to bring that up, but I remember last year one of the handicapped students passing away during the school year and I didn't want that to happen this year and Tanner not be "prepared" that that could happen.

I'm so thankful that God gave my girl such a big, compassionate, caring heart. I'm so proud of her and the fact that handicapped people, whether kids or adults, don't scare or intimidate her. Most kids like her could care less-not my girl. She's definitely got the biggest heart of any 12 year old I know.