Re: Something for Teddy (various sources)

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: : Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the : : very first day of school in the fall and told the children a lie. : : Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved : : them all the same, that she would treat them all alike. : : And that was impossible because there in front of her, slumped : : in his seat in the third row, was a little boy named Teddy : : Stoddard. Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and : : noticed he didn't play well with the other children, that his : : clothes were unkempt and that he constantly needed a bath. And : : Teddy was unpleasant. It got to the point during the first few : : months that she would actually take delight in marking his : : papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then marking the F at : : the top of the paper biggest of all. : : Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, no one else seemed to : : enjoy him, either. : : At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to : : review each child's records and put Teddy's off until last. : : When she opened his file, she was in for a surprise. His first-grade : : teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child with a : : ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a : : joy to be around." : : His second-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student : : well-by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother : : has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle." His : : third-grade wrote, "Teddy continues to work hard but his : : mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his : : father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect : : him if some steps aren't taken." : : Teddy's fourth-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and : : doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many : : friends and sometimes sleeps in class. He is tardy and could become a : : problem." : : By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem, but Christmas was : : coming fast. It was all she could do, with the school play and : : all, until the day before the holidays began and she was suddenly : : forced to focus on Teddy Stoddard. Her children brought her : : presents, all in beautiful ribbon and bright paper, except for Teddy's, : : = : : which was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper of a scissored = : : grocery bag. Mrs.Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the : : other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found : : a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a : : bottle that was one-quarter full of cologne. She stifled the : : children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, : : putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume behind the other wrist. : : Teddy Stoddard stayed behind just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, : : today you smelled just like my mom used to." After the children left : : she : : cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching : : reading, : : writing and speaking. = : : Instead, she began to teach children. Jean Thompson paid particular : : attention to one they all called "Teddy." As she worked with him, : : his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the : : faster he responded. On days there would be an important test, : : Mrs.Thompson would remember that cologne. By the end of the year he : : had become one of the smartest children in the class and... : : well, he had also become the "pet" of the teacher who had once vowed : : to love all of her children exactly the same. A year later she : : found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that of all the : : teachers he'd had in elementary school, she was his favorite. : : Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He : : then wrote that he had finished high school, third In his class, and : : she was still his favorite teacher of all time. Four years : : after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been : : tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and : : would graduate from college with the highest of honors. He : : assured Mrs. Thompson she was still his favorite teacher. : : Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This : : time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he : : decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was : : still : : his favorite teacher but that now his name was a little longer. : : The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D. : : The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another : : letter that Spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was to be : : married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago : : and : : he was wondering...well, if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in : : the pew usually reserved for the mother of the groom. And guess : : what, she wore that bracelet, the one with several Rhine stones : : missing. : : And I bet on that special day, Jean Thompson smelled just : : like...well, just like the way Teddy remembered his mother smelling on : : their last Christmas together. : : THE MORAL: You never can tell what type of impact you may make : : on another's life by your actions or lack of action. Consider this : : fact in your venture through life. Time is of little essence, : : when Life continues on, take Time to remember the little things the : : little things mean the most and Life falls into place. : : Yesterday is History : : Tomorrow is a Mystery : : Today is a Gift : : That's why they call it the PRESENT : Thank you for a wonderful story. I work with a group of inner city chilren. This story is a reminder of why I choose to share God's love with them : Grace and Peace

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