MeMe’s Big Surprise – A story by Vera Smoot Taylor
It happened in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. It was on a sunny, Saturday morning at Popi and MeMe’s house. Today they had two very special visitors. One was a little girl about six years old. They call her Erin. She’s their granddaughter. The other visitor was a little boy about four years old. They call him Isaiah. He’s their grandson.
They started talking about the family Zoom call on Sunday. But Erin was thinking about helping Isaiah. She and he often did homework at MeMe’s house. Erin remembered that Isaiah was not able to read all of his sight words. She suddenly asked, “What do you think about me tutoring Isaiah? We can go over his sight words. Then he’ll know them when his teacher asks him to read.” MeMe’s eyes opened wide. Her mouth did, too. She was so surprised. She was thinking…what is this?
In a flash MeMe said, “Of course, you can.” Later that day, Erin had her first plan. She offered to tutor Isaiah on Face time or on Zoom. She would start the next week. It would take about thirty to forty-five minutes. She wouldn’t charge his mom, Bithy (Tiffany), too much.
The next Saturday Erin had a final plan. She said “I am not charging anything. I will do it as a service project. She asked MeMe to take notes on her teaching. Erin decided it would take about thirty minutes. She then offered one more idea. “Why don’t we say some prayers?” That’ll make it a devotional. The next Sunday Erin called before the family meeting. She tutored Isaiah on Face Time. MeMe listened and wrote notes about Erin’s teaching. Erin showed Isaiah some flash cards.
She showed him how to sound out a word. For example, “the c in cat sound like K. Now you say it.” After every teaching point, Erin asked Isaiah, do you understand? She told Isaiah that he had no choice but to memorize some of the words. Then ended the tutoring by singing the song, Abdul’-Baha. They clapped their hands to the beat. Then they each repeated this prayer:
O God, guide me, protect me, make of me a shining lamp and a brilliant star.
Thou are the Mighty and the Powerful. (Abdul’Baha)
The first two sessions lasted about twenty minutes each. Then came spring break. Erin’s plan was to continue teaching until Isaiah can read his sight words. Erin is keeping her promise. Here they are- Popi and MeMe supporting Isaiah and Erin.
Thought questions:
- What if you chose to help someone without them asking for help?
- What if you were willing to ask for help when you need it?
Affirmation
I am willing to ask for help when I need it.
About the Author
Vera Smoot Taylor teaches child caregivers how to foster child well-being. Well-being is developed by early positive experiences and leads to normal brain development. Also, well-being is linked to happiness. Happiness is recognizable by high self-esteem, respect for all, follow through, love of learning, problem solving, and giving back. To supplement her teaching, Vera created a few basic resources that support brain development in three areas:
1. Spiritual and intellectual learning
2. Mental and emotional health
3. Relations and social behaviors
Vera’s work experience spans more than 35 years in public schools, private industry, and medical education. She served as a volunteer faculty for The Parent University in Atlanta. She currently serves on a national committee developing a course on spiritual parenting for racial justice.
Born and raised in WV, Vera lives in Georgia with her husband of 58 years. She enjoys country music, line dancing, and preparing meals that heal body illnesses. A special day is ‘back-porch swinging” with a friend.
