~and a person like Melissa, from Willow to Newkirk~

It's a long ways from Willow, Alaska to Newkirk, Oklahoma......3,607 miles of a long way as a matter of fact.  When an envelope with a return address from Willow arrived at our school today, I knew exactly what was inside of it.   

5 of the most beautiful postcards were tucked safely into the small manila envelope, the answer to our request on Facebook to learn more about this wonderfully great country we live in~America.  A total stranger who somehow became familiar with our desire to receive a postcard from each of the 50 states, had taken it upon herself to spend money to purchase those gorgeous Alaska cards and put them into the mail. 

Newkirk and Willow~

We might be far away from one another on the map, but somehow or another this act of human kindness makes it seem like the "sender", a woman named Melissa, was an old friend.

~thank you Melissa Heise, whoever you might be~

And so it has been for the past few months and even more so in the past few weeks, that our mailbox at Newkirk Elementary School has been filled with the goodness and kindness of total strangers.  There is nary a state now that we have not heard from and how nice it has been to receive not one but many cards from several different states. At year's end all of these postcards will go home with our fourth graders as mementos of a project that was fun to do and a learning experience as well.  

I am only one teacher of millions across this great land of ours.  All of us in education are struggling this year as we try our best to educate the young people who will some day be the ones in charge of this world we all live in and share together.  Between covid exposures, contact tracing, periods of quarantine, and waiting for the vaccination to come to those who work in public schools, this worldwide pandemic has made being a teacher in the school year of 2020-2021 a challenge to be sure.  It's a day like this one and people like Melissa and so many others that cause my weary spirits to soar.



~mail call earlier today~

It's way too far to walk to and would be one long drive to get there.  Yet you can't help but to know that many good folks live in Willow, Alaska and Melissa is one of them.  The world gets smaller every single day.


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