Nature's True Wonders

Over the Christmas break, I took a road trip with a friend to Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas.  We did see some amazing tracks, but I saw a few other things there that day that amazed me and got me to thinking.  This is one.

 

I’m not sure if you can tell, but in the center of this giant rocky formation, there is a small tree growing.  My friend and I stopped to look at this wonder.  He, like me, is a metaphorical kind of thinker, so we had a grand time thinking about the symbolism inherent in this bit of nature.  But I’ve thought back on this picture so many times, I decided to share.

 

As you are probably aware if you are my FB friend, I’m home with the flu.  Of course the whole world doesn’t know, or my whole school, so I received a wake up text at about 7:30 this morning from one of my favorite English teachers.  He was texting to let me know that one of my kids was not in class.  I have an agreement with a couple of teachers about a few of my special case kids.  If they are not in class first period, I get a call or text.  Then I begin the process of tracking them down. 

 

This particular student has come to hold a pretty special place in my heart…who am I kidding…lots of them do!  But this one, he is something else.  He is a lot like this little tree bravely growing from a rock.  He shouldn’t be growing at all.  He has no soil and no water.  No nurturing gardener or regular rain.  He lives in his dad’s house but rarely sees him.  He lives alone.  His dad pays the main bills, but he has to come up with money for food, clothing, gas, and school needs.  No one checks to make sure he is up in the morning or that he has eaten a good breakfast or that he gets to school on time or even if he has clean clothes.  The only people he really has are a few buddies who aren’t in any better shape.  And together they have gotten into a lot of trouble over the years.

 

But something changed this year and he’s begun to work and to care about school.  He sees the possibility of graduation in the distance, and he wants it.  Unfortunately, the pattern of his life and choices have not landed him in a very good place to achieve the goal, so he is having to relearn.  And change is hard.  He’s trying to get caught up on credits and maintain passing grades.  He’s a smart kid.  But suddenly, he’s trying to keep up with homework and deadlines that he never cared about before.  That is a tough change to make.

 

And if that isn’t enough, there are adults in his life whom I work with every day, I’m ashamed to admit, who would very much like to see him fail.  They are like a strong Panhandle wind gust trying to blow him over.  They look at him and see a thug.  They see a kid who has been in and out of gangs.  A minority.  A kid who has had his share of trouble with the law.  A kid who doesn’t particularly care for authority.  And why should he?  Most of those in authority in his life have let him down in some way.  Why should teachers be any different?

 

But for some reason, against all odds, he’s growing. 

 

He shouldn’t even have survived this long.  He’s a little bitty sapling trying to sink roots into a rock.  But like this tree, he’s learned some things about survival.  He’s learned that if he’s going to make it, he has to do it himself.  He’s learned that fighting isn’t always the answer and that working a job is far safer than some of the other options for making money on the streets.  That’s why losing his job a few weeks ago has been so devastating.  He came right out and told me that there are plenty of ways for him to make money, but he wanted a job.  For the life of me, I can’t figure out why kids tell me these things.  Things I’m better off not knowing.

 

Today he wasn’t in first period, so I texted him.  His reply was that his mom had a heart attack.  So he lives on his own with no parental support.  Provides his own basic needs.  Goes to school.  And is making a ridiculous effort to graduate.  And now his mom, who has very little contact with him, has had a heart attack, and he was expected to step in and be the adult.  Again.  And he did.

 

I offered encouragement and let his teacher lifelines know.  Then he texted to let me know he was about to leave the hospital and head to school.  Really?  Where does that kind of resolve come from in a kid whose roots are growing into rock?  Why is school important today?

 

Maybe it’s the safest place in his life. I do know that while there are a few wind bags who don’t want to see him succeed, there are a few of us who do.  His English teacher waters him.  His math teacher tries to shine some light even though he resists.  His homeroom teacher provides shelter by making him clean up his language and be respectful so he doesn’t get in trouble.  And his counselor tracks him down when he doesn’t show up to class and makes sure his roots have a little soil.

 

None of that makes up for a lifetime of trying to grow out of a barren rock.  But I’m hopeful, that like this little tree, he’ll keep growing.

 

Everyone has the ability to be the water, the sunshine, the shelter, or the soil.  But everyone also has the potential to be the wind.