Windows into their worlds

One of my favorite times during the school day is writing workshop. I love it because it gives you a tiny window into the children's little worlds- it's a chance to see what is really important to the kids you teach and hear about what they've been doing. Many times, especially in the warmer months, we get tired of hearing the stories about going to the park or the pool- over and over and over again. Still, that's what they did over the weekend that was important to them, and it's nice to listen to them chatter on excitedly about visiting playgrounds with their parents.

Magical's stories are also a window into his world, but I find myself wishing to hear about visiting the park or Chuck-E-Cheese for Magical's sake. With his chemo treatments and the lack of family resources his world is his apartment and the hospital, and that's it. Even within his apartment his world is his couch, his tv, and his food. On Friday afternoon he excitedly told a story about his dinner one night. On the first page he drew the dinner- it was all ready for him. On the second page he drew the bathroom- before he could eat dinner he needed to go to the bathroom. On the third page he drew himself on the couch- after the bathroom he was too tired for dinner so he slept while his food waiting for him on a table by the couch. On the fourth page he drew himself eating dinner- when he woke up his food was still there so he was able to eat it after his nap.

Magical found nothing sad about this story, in fact, he was thrilled that he was able to wake up and have his dinner ready for him. I tried to get caught up in his excitement as we went over his drawings and his story. It wasn't until I left his apartment that the utter sadness of the situation hit me. To most kindergartners that would be a very uneventful story- not to mention that it wouldn't even have happened because they wouldn't be too tired after a bathroom trip to eat. To Magical, it was the most notable thing about his day.

 Yet all this means that Magical is getting better day by day. The chemo is doing what it needs to do, and one day Magical will be able to return to us. When he's back hopefully we'll have more exciting stories- typical five year old "I went to the park" stories we'll eventually get tired of hearing. I can't wait.