It was a Christmas gift from one of my kids in Kurdistan; she gave it to one of our school's American staffers who returned to the U.S. for the holidays and in turn mailed to me once she returned Stateside.
The gift? A plush (read: Beanie Baby-esque) toy puppy with wings. Weird, but very endearing.
Even more endearing, though, is the incredibly sweet letter this student of mine wrote. Though a bit of a troublemaker when I had her in my 5th grade math and music classes, this girl has always been a real sweetheart to me (when I was back in Northern Iraq in 2007, she and a group of her friends invited me to lunch at the American-style cafe in town for Pepsi, pizza, "humburgers," and "Kantaqi," aka Kentucky Fried Chicken).
My favorite part of the letter:
"God bless you and your family and ohh Dear God give Mr. David a cute wife and two beautiful childs, a boy and a cute girl!! We love you ♥"I miss and love these kids so much, and often feel the pangs of guilt over not being able to be back over there in a long-term capacity. I often feel a sense of shame when I think about my kids; that I've let them down, that they might perceive my absence as an indicator of some unwarranted antipathy towards them.
Nothing could be further from the truth, of course; I love my Kurdish kids dearly and think of them on a daily basis.
Which is why getting a wonderful little surprise like this package does my heart so much good. Despite my fears and thoughts to the contrary, I can know that they're thinking of me as well.
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