Another Loss

    Yet another child is leaving our little school and we feel bereft. This small boy is my older daughter's "Little Buddy" and she is going to miss him terribly. My daughter has always had a hard time finding friends to share time with at recess and at lunch. She wandered around and talked to a few kids but so often was told to go away that for several years, she was resigned to picking up garbage or chatting with a particularly nice playground supervisor. That lady has since left our school so my daughter was happy to be paired up with this boy from kindergarten who, like her, has epilepsy and like her, has also got some other challenges to contend with. They were a great pair and it was sweet to see how they related to one another. I wrote about it here last year.
    I am at a loss to understand all that happened to him and why but suffice it to say, his needs weren't being met and he has had to move on to a school where hopefully, they will be.
   Sometimes families move and our population changes. As of last week, we have a new student at our school. We are glad to have him and welcome his family to our city. A new student however, does not, cannot fill the place of a well-loved and special friend who is leaving our school community. Our buddy is not leaving our neighbourhood and I'm sure there will be opportunities to come together and share. But it is not the same, my daughter informs me. There is no one else like him in the world. That is true. As his mother wrote in one of her books, "I am different, just like you."  Rab Rakha our friends...