K is for Kookaburra

or a Kind Act

Sarah is a special needs buddy that I spend time with on Sundays when I help her maneuver through church activities. She is one of the most loving people I know, along with a keen appreciation for nature. I always enjoy my time with her. Here is one of the mornings we spent together.

The air had a chill as Sarah and I did our regular walk from one building to the other on a short path through the woods. Sarah enjoys these walks because she loves everything to do with nature. We always stop and examine a leaf, bug, or bird along the way. Actually, we examined many leaves and bugs- some of which we collected. More often than not, our pockets are full of her treasures. This morning as we were walking along, Sarah said she saw a skunk. I told her I wasn't sure it was a skunk and suggested that maybe it was a cat. I then told her about a black and white cat I used to have named Samantha.

I shared stories about how Samantha would stand up on her hind legs and hold her paws like she was praying. I also told her how Samantha would drag clothes into a pile and how she made a pile of my mother's underwear by the front door one time. Sarah was amused by these stories and asked how old Samantha was. I told her that Samantha lived a long time ago and she had died.

We finished our walk to the other building and sat down to examine our treasures. However, Sarah had other things on her mind. She was obviously still thinking about Samantha because she told me that it was okay to be sad sometimes and gave me a big hug. She said that she had my back and she loved me. But to top it all off, she dug through the bag of stuffed animals she had with her and picked out one specific one for me. It was a very well-loved Beanie Baby bird that she told me was a kookaburra. I was afraid that Sarah would miss this bird when she got home, so I suggested that she could keep it for me and she could bring it back every time we met. You see, even though Sarah has dozens and dozens of stuffed animals, she has given each one a name and personality. So she would definitely know if one were missing. But she insisted that I keep it, so I did.

After our very tender moments of Sarah consoling me about the loss of Samantha, we started to sing Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum tree laughing as we sang. A perfect ending to another special morning with Sarah.