kendra1980 said:
Well, hey there, RC... It's nice to finally meet you... Don't worry about the email - I know how busy life can get, trust me... Now, meeting you face to face would just be awesome - when you get out to the New England area, let me know - we'll have a sit down and some coffee or something... Your sweetheart is awesome - she jumped all over someone who's been giving me problems last night... Was pretty fun to watch, LOL...Rebel_Cowboy said:
BlackWolf65 said:
BlackWolf65 said:
Rebel_Cowboy said:
AndYetAnother said:
denali said:I thought I'd mark my 1000th post with something a little serious - most of it, I have written before.
To Kendra
Who found me when I was lost, and who came back and found me again when I was scared and confused.
who finds things in me I thought I had lost and allows me to feel things I was unsure of,
who gives me things I didn't know I was looking for and encourages me to look for more.
She has aroused passion, love and fire in me, feelings that I was never expecting to give to her.
A chance conversation with a genuinely friendly, warm woman turned into something more. Now, she has stolen my heart, no, that's not true, it wasn't stolen, I gave it willingly, completely.
Kendra, you know I love you, I want everyone else to know it too. I want to shout it from the rooftops - so there can be no doubts or confusion.
I revel in your love, I am amazed by your words and your heart. I am blessed to be so fortunate as to meet a woman such as you. I wish I had more words, better words for you. I love you is not enough.
__________________
BW.. now you've gone and made me cry! This is such a lovely post my friend. And you're right, nothing does matter but the two of you... {{{{{{{{{{{BW & DF}}}}}}}}}}}} Wishing you both nothing but the best of everything hon..BlackWolf65 said:
BlackWolf65 said:
As was pointed out to me by a friend, the fact that I've had to change plans, and not make my geographic move, is not entirely negative. There was at least one thing about that which has turned out to be very positive, both for me, and for the little girl this post was written about...BlackWolf65 said:My little disclaimer(s):
First, I am a true "half-breed." I am half Cree, half Irish. Indian people tend to be long-winded storytellers, as do the Irish. Therefore, when you combine the two, you get something that just hates to shut up... In other words, this is going to be a long post...
Second, this particular post is not about DF. This post is about a very special little girl, who today just melted my heart completely...
Some of you know this, but for those who don't, every summer during the break from school, I teach traditional native crafts to young kids. I've been doing this for years, and this year has been sort of bittersweet for me, because it's the last time that I'll be doing this in Vermont. Hopefully, once I've relocated, I'll be able to find a way to do this again, because it is truly something that I have a passion for doing.
Anyway, I have a student, a little girl, (all of my students this year are girls, which makes for some interesting classes, believe me...), who is ten-almost-eleven years old. She'll be eleven in a couple of weeks, which she never tires of letting people know. This little girl has been coming to these summer classes for three years now. Two years ago, she lost her mother to cancer. Since then, she's been this very fragile little thing emotionally - she will cry at the drop of a hat, if she even *suspects* that someone may be upset with her. She's a great kid, just very fragile, and still trying to get over the loss of her mother. Her Dad is a great guy, but still, she's had a rough time.
Every week, this little girl stays late to help me to repack all of the materials that I've brought for that day, and to clean up the classroom where we have the class. Most of what I teach is traditional beadwork. When working with beads, they're put in small cups, sorted out by color and size. Several weeks ago, she was helping with clean up, and she was carrying a tray that had at least ten colors of seed beads (*very* tiny beads) on it, all in different containers. These containers are open, like small bowls. As she was bringing them to me, she dropped the tray. Several thousand seed beads all over the room. This poor kid stood there, and tears started to run down her face. I got her calmed down, and we swept up the beads, and put them all in one container - my plan was to bring them home, resort them by color, and keep using them.
But this poor kid was so upset with herself. I talked with DF about it in IM one day, and I decided to give the container of beads to the little girl. I told her that they're "Rainbow beads now, and they're special, because you made the rainbow." I told her that I wanted her to have them, but she had to do one thing: She had to use some of them to make something for me.
Now, every year, all of the kids have to do a final project - something that they make that they get a "sort of" grade on for the summer. They do get some art credit for this class with the school here. Now, as I said, she is ten-almost-eleven years old. And I believe that she is just now discovering this mysterious power that females have over males, though I'm sure she has no idea yet exactly *why* they have this power. In typical "feminine wiles" fashion, she asked me if she could use what she made for me as her final project, too. I told her that would be fine. And walked away knowing that I'd been had by a ten-almost-eleven-year-old...
Last week, during class, she had to "take a measurement" of my upper arm. At that point I had a good idea of what she was going to be making. During this process, she commented, "Boy, you have little arms!" A couple of days later, I got a phone call from her Dad, asking where he could get some black suede leather, because his daughter "needs it for something." I told him I'd give him some, it was easier and faster. Then, I got an email from him, asking if I might have a loom pattern for beading a wolf's paw. I sent him one.
Today, I went to what was my final class here. I was feeling a little down about it, but I was doing okay. The last class is always just a discussion about what the kids have learned this year, and then they show me their final projects. During the discussion part, I let them know that this is my last summer doing this. This little girl I've been talking about got very quiet, and a tear rolled down her face, but she held up. The images below are pics that I took of the armband that she made for me. Now, before you open these pics, please keep in mind that this was made by a ten-almost-eleven-year-old, and in some respects, that shows. {Also, please ignore my skinny little arms...} But trust me when I tell you that for something that was produced by a ten-almost-eleven-year-old, this is a remarkable piece of work. She beaded in a wolf's paw at each end of this armband, sewed it to a piece of leather, and attached a feather, on which she had painted another representation of a wolf's paw. She told me that she didn't use a pattern other than the wolf's paws, because she wanted all of the "rainbow beads" to look the way they did when she dropped the tray, and then picked them up... The feather struck me - she wrapped the quill quite well, and her work on painting the wolf's paw is awesome...
As usual, she stayed after class to help me clean up and pack. While we were doing that, she was very quiet. We were almost done, and she finally asked me why I won't be back next year. I told her that I was moving, and that I was moving to another part of the country. Then she said, "But, who's going to teach the class next year?" I told her that I wasn't sure, but that I'd do my best to find someone to take it over for me. (Note: A former student of mine, who is now eighteen, and does traditional craft work for a living now, told me a few minutes ago that she'd be more than happy to commit to taking it over. I couldn't ask for a better person to take this class - her work goes far beyond anything that I do.) Her Dad came to pick her up about then, and she said, "Dad, Black Wolf isn't going to be teaching the class anymore." Again, I explained about moving, this time with a bit more detail - telling him about the impending divorce. He shook my hand, thanked me, and said that the kids would miss me.
As we left the building, this little girl wrapped her arms around me, and started to cry. She told me she was going to miss me, and she asked me if I'd write to her. I told her that I would, if it was okay with her Dad. He said of course, and then she said, "And can I write to you, too? Or email you?" I looked at her Dad, and he just nodded to me, so I told her that of course she can write to me. I couldn't let go of her for a couple of minutes, because now *I* was crying...
Anyway, we all calmed down, and she went and got in the car, and I talked to her Dad for a few minutes. He thanked me again, and told me that this summer class has been something that's helped her to stay focused on something other than losing her mom a couple of years ago. Before they left, I went to the car, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and told her that I'm going to miss her. She was still crying, but she smiled at me. Just before they left, she looked at me and said, "Black Wolf? Don't forget, you have to write to me. You promised." I told her I would, and they drove away, and I stood there for a couple more minutes crying, waiting for my son to pick me up...
Amazing how a little ten-almost-eleven-year-old girl showed me today that even though I may be leaving some things behind here, I'm also taking some very, very precious things with me. My Grandfather once told me that I should always keep in my mind this fact: "Every single thing that you do or say has the potential to have a profound impact on the people around you." Today, for the first time, that lesson was brought home to me by a little girl.
So, even though she won't see these words - at least not until she's old enough to be here in Lit...
K, I want you to know that you have taught me a valuable lesson. And I want you to know that where ever I go, you will always be with me in my heart, and in my memories of you. I'll make sure to send my wolf to check on you from time to time. Good luck to you, Sweetie - I know you're going to take the world by storm one day.
