Welcome to Nicky's Town

Last school year began as most years do, the PreK tiny humans move up to Kindergarten and a handful of new students join our Preschool. Included in that handful of new students was a clever, bright, but quirky little boy. Now, any teacher knows those clever and quirky children are always the first on your radar, the first name you learn, the ones that will take as much time figuring you out as it does you them. They may cause you some temporary grief but you also know that they’re going to end up having the biggest impact on your year. After a series of struggles and heartfelt conversations there will be an “aha!” moment. A turning point. A glorious moment when the stars align, that proverbial click happens, and the hard work of both student and teacher pays off in a monumental and life-changing way.

He was that student last year. We butted heads at the beginning of the year over his seeming apathy towards artistic endeavors. Cooking? Total thumbs up. Art class? Double thumbs down. Turns out his apathy was really just insecurity about his creativity, of which he was full of! Our first semester was one of reminding one another that perfection isn’t everything, mistakes are no biggie, and that there are so many versions of success.

By Christmas break we were warming up to each other but not much of what we were learning in art class was sparking his interest. After an informal conversation about what he would love to do, I gave him a small assignment: design a city. He loved building, you know the blocks and Legos kind, really anything you could stack, and I challenged him to be an architect of his own city. His mom was on board and honestly I didn’t think much would come of it because break. I hoped for the best and went about my break as well.

We rang in 2019 and came back to school on 7 January. And wouldn’t you know it, I got a surprise visit from this little guy and his mom after school the very next day. Why? Because he could not wait to show me what he had created. He had even brought it in to show his class- big stuff! Helped by his mom, he set down a large poster board with 3D buildings, a skate park, an impressive swing set, a toy airplane with its own runway, and so many other wonderful and exciting details. Across the bottom were the words “Welcome to Nicky’s Town”. For ten minutes he excitedly shared their process, the pieces, and the plans to add to it in the future. His mom admitted she was tentative about how it would go, but marveled at his excitement when they finally got down to work over break. My heart was bursting! This had been the “aha” moment and it was breathtaking. He came back to class that week with a greater sense of his creative ability and a new, positive, attitude. It had happened. He finally believed he was an artist and we had a wonderful spring semester together.

This evening I found out that this boy and his mother died in a tragic car accident on Saturday.

There are no words. There is shock, disbelief, and overwhelming sadness. So much sadness. In the midst of it all I remembered the joy of his triumph, this one little story of a clever, bright, mysterious, and oh so charmingly quirky boy and his lovely mom. That’s what I’m going to hold on to.

 Hold each other a little closer today. Be kinder with your words. Allow for more grace in those moments of frustration. None of us know what tomorrow holds and it’s so easy to get caught up in life that whirls around us. I’m gonna love on my tiny humans a little harder and try to live like every day I’m being welcomed into Nicky’s town; a place of joy, inspiration, and renewed excitement. What a beautiful place.