Everyday he wears the same polo shirt that used to be blue but has faded to white and is way to small for him. He always has a smile on his face and greets me with a joke or tells me about a funny picture he found on his favorite website "LOLcats."
He's been held back a year and wasn't promoted to 6th grade with his classmates but his response to being asked about taking 5th grade again was "I get to make new friends so its pretty cool!"
I've been trying to motivate him to study more and do his homework but he usually gets way off topic which is why we've become great friends.
"Miss Heidi, do you ever get like really really bored?"
"Sometimes I do, but I usually read or work on school stuff when I'm bored."
"I hate being bored, and I hate going home." he exclaimed with his thick Arabic accent.
"Why don't you do your homework and study when you get home?"
"I try, I even put my spelling words under my pillow but nothing happens!" I paused and looked at him to see if he was really serious but he smiled and changed the subject quickly.
"I have a secret place I like to go when I'm bored you know. It used to be the place underground where my family would hide during the Intifada because we were afraid of being killed. When I grow up I want to make it into a fun place with ping pong tables."
I put down the dish I had been washing and saw him under our Christmas tree playing with a yo-yo and some other toy he had found on the coffee table. I couldn't get over how young he was and yet how he could talk so casually about world conflict with a certain childlike innocence. My prayer for this child and for many others I see each day is that they would not grow callous like the world around them or hardened in spirit.
Keep his eyes open Lord to your promises. Surround him with encouragement. Give me your words Father because I in this moment am speechless.
This made me cry.
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