Wednesday, November 25, 2009

What I'm Thankful for Today: Ms. Kamlah



Some of you have heard me talk about one of the baby teachers at the boys' school, Ms. Kamlah. I so wish you could meet this amazing woman in person. I can't sing her praises enough!

Back when Monkey first started going to school, as a new mom, I had a hard time with going back to work. I had to have N do the drops in the mornings, as it was just too emotional for me. I get to do the pickups after work. After one particularly tough day at the office, I arrived at Monkey's school in tears. Tears of frustration, but so happy to see my little boy. I will never forget Ms. Kamlah cheering me that evening. When I told her I was having such a hard time with working, she said something very profound that made me considering working motherhood in a new light.

(Ms. Kamlah is from Trinidad, so imagine her saying this in a thick West Indies accent.)

"Your son is a special boy, Momma. He is so little, but he has a God-given job to bless those people around him. He's too little to do anything else. If you were with him at home, he would not be able to have such a wide audience of people to do that with. By working, you are allowing God to use your child for His glory."

It was one of those moments that I felt like God was speaking to me directly.

Even though it was still hard, I started going to work with a renewed sense of purpose. If not for myself, then for my child.

Two weeks ago, Ms. Kamlah announced her retirement. She has worked at this school for 13 years, all in the infant room. She has told me many times that when she lies down every night, she imagines all the name-tagged cribs in the room and prays for each child individually. The idea that my two boys have had somebody, besides Mommy and Daddy, pray over them DAILY, is such a huge blessing to our family.

Today is Ms. Kamlah's last day at our boys' school. While we are so grateful for the time she's been called to care and love on our boys, we are very sad our time with her is over. But after all her years for caring for so many children, it's time for her to relax and enjoy herself.

Ms. Kamlah will never know exactly how much of a blessing she has been to our family. But we pray that God watch, keep her, and bless her. We will miss her very much!

4 comments:

The Kennedy's said...

I went after the park... and Reecey, Kamlah, and myself had some big snuggly hugs and smiles and more hugs and kisses. No tears... just smiles and hugs. But reading your post makes me teary. I guess b/c I can hear her saying those words. She would tell me that Reece would give "hi fives" to everyone that walked in the room and it made everyone laugh. She said they also did that to all of the new parents... a show-off! :) She will be missed.

AW said...

I won't lie Jen...this morning was VERY hard. All of us mommas that did the presentation were doing the ugly cry, including Ms. Kamlah. Even the dads that attended had a hard time keeping straight faces. We love her so much and it now feels like a part of our family has died. I'm glad my day was so busy with fun things, because now that I'm at home in the silence, the weight of it is hitting. I miss my friend and partner.

Karrie said...

I'm so glad that I got a chance to meet the woman who has been SUCH a blessing to you and your whole family. What a wonderful, godly lady.

Jessica Newman said...

Wow! I feel blessed to have a wonderful lady take care of Kendall, and now Hadley. I honestly don't know what I'd do if I didn't completely trust her with my girls. Thanks for sharing what Kamiah said to you about working. I still struggle with that daily...it's nice to hear a different perspective on it.