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We Were Small, But Irresistible

It was already dark at 6:30 PM on a cold and rainy February day in 2005. It was the second week of our initial after-school program. We had endured almost a year of delays and broken promises that often made it seem as if we’d never get started. But we had made a modest beginning at the local recreation center with 18 students, no classrooms, and no school buses. But we had some wonderful and dedicated teachers. We provided transportation to student homes with an old passenger van, driven by our site coordinator. I rode shotgun. It was my job to escort each child across the street and then home. I had announced that each child should take my hand and hold on tight while he or she stepped down from the van and accompanied me. Of course, each time I opened the door, the exiting children jumped off and headed for home. I was lucky to stop them and grab one hand before they hit the street. If that scary experience didn’t bring me down another notch, I don’t know what else could. But when I announced the location of the fifth stop, I reached out my hand as I had done four times before and I felt someone actually taking it. It was a very small second grader, dressed impeccably in a beautiful blue double-breasted coat. I escorted her across the street, receiving a cheery, “See you tomorrow, Mr. Jim.” Fifteen minutes later our shift was over. And so was my depression. Almost in tears, I told my wife, “This is what you work for.”

I’m still here. The student is now a fifth-grader in our program. She helps others with their homework. She is a leader. She doesn’t remember taking my hand. But, I remember her taking my heart.

Jim Wolfson