Small Moments #4

Speech 4

The aims for this speech project focus on your selection of words and phrases:

• Choose words and grammar which communicate clearly.
• Choose words and grammar which appeal to the senses.
• Eliminate jargon.

Fellow Toastmasters,

Memories are a precious thing.  Out of everything in this life, it is one thing we can treasure forever.  Fires destroy the most material objects.  Things can be stolen, lost, or broken within a moment's notice.  But memories burn in our heart forever.

Years ago, when I was around 9 or 10, my mom was in a terrible accident and dislocated her shoulder.  The surgery was harder on her than she had expected.  It was painful and many nights she moaned in constant pain.  It was hard on me to hear her struggle so much.  I would sit at the end our worn, blue couch and pull her legs towards me.  I would rub them gently, back and forth...back and forth.   I would have her picture the beach just as I would like to do with you.  Please close your eyes and imagine the scene that I share with you.   

In your ears, the sound of the crashing waves soothe every fear, every stress, every weight that you carry upon those trained, tired, and task-driven shoulders.  Your feet are enveloped by warm, sparkling white sand that fills every crevice.   Seagulls squawk for lunch leftovers. The taste of salt lingers on your tongue. You are refreshed and ready to face your life again. Open your eyes.

Just as I shared this moment with you, I tried to distract my mother with this glimpse of the beach I knew she would treasure.  A smile would creep across her face and she seemed to forget for a moment her aching pain.  This is what memories of the beach does for my family.  They heal us. The sun, the air, and the atmosphere revitalizes, renews, and recommits us to our lives.  It's amazing how memories help to heal us.  

Memories also teach us a lesson.  With my Language Arts students, we have a unit of study called Small Moments. In this unit we take small glimpses of our life and write them down to be remembered forever.  I love writing with my students to encourage them, to know what struggles they will encounter, and to relive some of my fondest memories.  Here is one I wrote recently.

A Sneeze in the Hand

As I checked my students one by one off for having their math homework, I noticed a very, unsmiling face.  The person that it was attached to is usually very smiley so this was unusual.

Mackenzie...I lifted her chin with my hand…

Achooooo!!!! she sneezed right into my outstretched hand, now filled with her wet germs. 

“Ewww!!!! Go get me the anti-bacterial soap.  Hurry!!”  I cringed at the puddle of snot as I pumped clear soap into the mixture.  Hopefully the germs shriveled and died right there in my hand.  But…you never know. 

Ok so not all of the small moments do I want to remember forever, but maybe for awhile... at least to remember not to stretch my hand out under a student's nose.  There are many small moments that happen in our lives.  Feeling success at our job one day.  The disappointing look we receive from our parents.  Most small moments are exactly that...small.  But others are deeply profound and important to us the rest of our lives.  Let me share one with you I will never forget.  

Instruments of all shapes and sizes covered the glassy counters. Round bins filled with silvery, sharp daggers, a square monitor screen to show surprising news, and an uncomfortable, plastic-lounge chair to wait on added to the tension.  This is the place I would discover my fate for the next 9 months. 

            As I sat on the sticky plastic, with only a towel draped over my legs.  The clock ticked louder in my ears.  Even though Fred was sitting near me, his presence felt invisible.  I was alone.

            As the sun set in the window frame, I noticed the silver door handle rise and fall.  It was time.  My heart pumped harder as the midwife walked through the open door.

            “Is this your first baby?” she asked as she started fingering her equipment. 

Yes I nodded back to her.  She introduced me to what was nicknamed the "Texas tampon" and told me to lean back and take deep breaths.  Before I could protest, I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. 

            I saw a small screen to my right that showed an ultra-violet black surrounding a tiny white center.  Is that my baby?  She nodded and continued to maneuver the stick from other angles. 

            “Huh…that’s our little jelly bean.  I watched as the midwife measured our baby from head to toe.  It wasn't even 2 centimeters yet.  What a tiny miracle!

Seeing my baby son the size of a jelly bean is a moment I will never forget.  There are many experiences we have in life. Some bad...but others are ones we want to hold tight to and never forget.  I wonder what we thought the first time we saw a grasshopper hop, or a butterfly spread its colorful wings.  Stop and smell the roses.  Wonderful things happen around us each day.   Memories are precious...and we are making them right now.