When we play with our abc’s we find beautiful, simple ways to expand our
lives. In our dream to make feeling good simple and fun, we turned to
the source of learning that we all have in common, no matter what
culture, gender, age, creed. The abc’s unite us in ways that we have
only begun to find. The possibilities are endless, and the fun, simple:
infinite.
http://www.amazon.com/Teffanie-T.-White/e/B009H8BS48
l o v e
N is for Never
ReplyDeleteJust for a second, possibly for a second and a half, is all it was. That got lost as the scene replayed through his mind continuously for the next weeks, months and years. The universe condensed into this tiny moment his eyes met hers. She was looking for someone else in the high school cafeteria but for this brief moment she found his eyes. Her dark skinned glowed, light reflected off her rounded cheeks like the sun reflecting off a tranquil lake. For this brief moment the center of his universe knew he existed.
‘Say something! Anything!’ his thoughts pleaded with him. His heart raced but he couldn’t; the agony of never knowing seemed the lesser of two evils compared to fear of rejection or embarrassment. All the reasons why he shouldn’t came through his mind so easily. He was a freshman; she was an upper-class man, a cheerleader. What if he sounded as awkward as he felt? But what if he could say something to make her smile? Would she remember him just enough so the next time he said something it wouldn’t be quite so awkward?
‘What’s your name?’ He asked softly while gently tilting his head. His eyes never veered.
‘Stephanie.’ She replied, although she wasn’t quite sure why she was responding at all.
He quickly responded, ‘That makes sense.’ as he subtlety shook his head up and down.
Not sure if she should be offended since she was black and he was white, she politely yet sternly blasted back ‘What’s that mean?’
In a soft disarming voice he confidently said ‘That the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen would have the most beautiful name I’ve ever heard.’
Her guard was down as she felt the intensity of his stare. Stephanie had to compose herself in this state of vulnerability. Clearly she was flattered and now intrigued, but she couldn’t help feeling challenged by this obvious underclassman.
But just like that the second and a half was over. The conversation that played in his mind never made it to sounds from their voices. Seconds go by every day; our minds don’t have the capacity to remember what happened in each one so it condenses the information into frames of reference until they are permanently erased. This brief moment more than likely became one of those for Stephanie, like chalk on a sidewalk being erased by the rain never to return.
Never is a term 13 years old boys can’t comprehend. As he approaches 40 the term never is understood. Life finds a way though, the 13 year old boy found love, now has kids of his own he loves. When I think of the letter N I think of the word Never. To this day I’ve never seen anything more beautiful. Now I teach my kids to never regret, never be afraid of failure and never underestimate the gravity of never. Hopefully you will never stop doing what you love.