As kids head back to school, don’t forget little things

As my Facebook feed filled with firstday-of-school pictures, my son Sawyer was writing a thank-you card to his firstgrade teacher for a graduation gift that had arrived in the mail.

Mrs. Ashcraft explained she had bought the same cards for Sawyer and his friend Parker because the penguins in graduation caps made her smile; the two boys had made her smile a lot. She just never sent them.

“Weird, I know,” she wrote, “but maybe a couple years out of high school, it’s OK to celebrate the changes that are happening in your life.

“We’re kind of always graduating from something.”

She signed it, “Susan, formerly known as Mrs. Ashcraft.”

Mrs. Ashcraft helped Sawyer discover “Frog and Toad” chapter books and studied habitats with him. She tried to tidy his handwriting.

Mrs. Ashcraft didn’t mind that Sawyer couldn’t sit still for long. She put a second desk near hers so he could walk from one to the other when he needed to move. She gave him spongy balls to squeeze and bought him books about scorpions.

As Sawyer wrote on the card, I wondered if he remembered all that. I had been so grateful for Mrs. Ashcraft, but little things like that don’t usually register with kids.

Sawyer handed me the card to mail. “You can read it,” he said. Dear Susan (which is very fun to say), I just wanted to thank you for the note you sent me. It was really quite a surprise, and it really meant a lot to me. I also just wanted to thank you for being such an understanding influence.

“I found myself remembering two desks and stress balls, and it becomes clear how lucky I was that I had someone on my side willing to make such an effort for my success. So, in my terrible handwriting, thank you so much.” He did remember. Because the little things matter.