THANK YOU MISS HARRIET

Our children started to attend Sunday school when they were about 4 months old. They'd sit in the little yellow molded plastic seats built into the half-moon table surrounded by other babies, where the tiniest seeds of Bible learning were planted into their hearts and minds.

For those of you who have a hard time leaving your little ones, this probably seems absurd, but it is the way we do things in our church.; and I loved it.

Anyway, the babies would sit in their little seats and be completely and thoroughly entertained and stimulated by the Cradle Roll teachers for 45 minutes. I mean, it was a veritable table top circus. Since I sat through the class for the first couple of weeks, I saw what went on with the babies and, let me tell you, Cradle Roll teachers are amazing! Talk about energy. Talk about creativity. Talk about patience. There was not one moment of down time for these babies, as books, bubbles, plastic animals, and even combs and brushes, in turn, made an appearance, most accompanied by a song about church or Jesus. The class always ended with each baby having a tiny Bible placed in front of them while the song "Oh I Love to Pat my Bible...it tells me of God" was sung. And the babies would pat, pat, pat their little Bibles and smile and coo, dribble and drool.

To this day, I cannot look at a little New Testament without thinking of that song.

I thought Cradle Roll was fantastic. Until I taught it for a quarter. As much as I loved the babies, I found it exhausting. It was truly a test of my patience to keep things exciting and stimulating for 45 minutes. I never knew how long 45 minutes was until I taught Cradle Roll. Cradle Roll teachers are heroes!!!

After Cradle Roll came the toddler class. Kayla's toddler teacher was Miss Harriet. We were at a different church when Blake was a toddler so he didn't have Miss Harriet. Miss Harriet was kind of stern and no-nonsense to the young mothers so I was a little concerned placing my baby in her class.

My fears were so far off the mark, I'm a little embarrassed now, when I remember my doubts.

Again, after observing the toddlers for a week or two, my heart melted at the love and patience Miss Harriet showed these babies. I remember when the subject of toddlers came up once at Ladies Bible Class, Harriet said "I've been teaching those babies for 150 years!!" And she might as well have been, because she had that class running like a well oiled machine. A machine oiled with patience, experience, love and, yes, expectations.

Within 3 weeks (that's 3 class times) the toddlers learned to enter the room, pick a puzzle from the shelf and go to the quilt on the floor and sit with Miss Harriet and her helpers. Miss Harriet would have been there for quite a while already, in her nice Sunday dress, walking around with little fleece booties on. She always removed her shoes so she could walk around the babies more easily and be more comfortable to move around on the floor with them. They would sit there and quietly work on puzzles while everyone filtered in. Then the class time was filled with stories, pictures, puppets, bubbles, songs and coloring. If a child wandered off the quilt, one of the teachers simply picked them up, placed them back on the quilt and gave them some extra attention to keep them entertained.

Through this experience I learned that even an 18 month old can follow a routine. Even at that young age, children can learn rules and know what is expected of them. And my child was taught to follow a routine and obey rules in this setting with kind words and patience. These teachers -Miss Harriet - loved my child.

Adding a name to the list of people who love my children is a gift in and of itself.

I learned to love Harriet in a whole new way during those few years that she taught my daughter. After all, when somebody treats your child with such love and tenderness, you can overlook any differences you might have had in your adult relationship.

Recently I learned that Miss Harriet has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

And my heart is breaking for her.

She was a public school teacher before she retired. She was a Bible teacher long after that. She and her husband attended every church function. Every potluck, every game night. She attended every shower, cooked for every funeral dinner. She has touched the lives of so many little ones and their parents.

She loved our children.

She loved teaching them.

She taught them well. She taught them differently than most young mothers today would approve of. But I appreciated her strict routine. Because strict doesn't equal mean. She knew what children were capable of, and she brought these tiny little people to their potential with the gentlest of hands.

And now, her mind is failing her. Her mind won't allow her to remember.

But I remember. I remember dropping my tiny daughter off, in her hair ribbons and puffy dress (yes, sometimes I put a crinoline on her) and watching her toddle to the shelf and plop on that old quilt next to her little classmates. I remember watching Miss Harriet lean over her and help her with the puzzle. And I remember that feeling. That feeling that my child was secure. That she knew what to expect for the next 45 minutes - fun, patience, tenderness. Love.

Thank you Miss Harriet. I am sorry that you may not remember.

But I certainly do.