25 Days of Me.

So the Facebook thing of writing 25 things about myself reminded me of so many more things that I thought I would take it to the blog. It seemed kinda narcissistic to write a 25 MORE things about ME column. So, instead... I will bless you with 1 new thing about me a day....for 25 days. You are SO LUCKY.

#1. In Junior High, I lived in Kentucky. I was bussed to a magnet school across town (30 minutes away.) I had to take 2 busses to get there. On the first bus, the crowd was middle school & high school. The high school kids in the back of the bus used to pick on me because one of the girls liked my boyfriend (who went to a different school and wasn't there to protect me from those bullies.) They called me Ribbons cause I wore a ponytail with a ribbon in it almost every day. So...every mean comment would start with, "Hey Ribbons.... fill in the blank of whatever stupid teenagers say to each other here." It got so bad, that I would take the ribbon out at the bus stop and leave it off until I got on the 2nd bus....where I was one of the "cool kids."

Sadly, I took my cool kid status and my aggression out on a poor little guy named Paul Lynch. No one ever said it outloud, but I KNOW he was special needs. He sat in the front seat of the bus, behind the bus driver. I think he was protecting himself from the other kids. I know that because I would sit close to the front on my first bus ride for the same reason.

He walked with an exaggerated limp (that I could imitate impeccably). He talked funny. His face was covered in zits. He had 2 plaid shirts that he would alternate and he wore beige pants every day. One day he showed up wearing a pair of jeans. But they were way too long and he had to cuff them. Some days I was nice to him. And other days I was mean. To this day, I haven't forgotten things I have said to him. To this day, I wonder where he is and how he is doing. I wish I could take back the things I said. I hope he is okay.

I remember that he loved Jesus. He talked about him a lot. As I grew older and thoughts of Paul started creeping back into my head, I have often wondered if he was an angel. He probably wasn't. Probably just a sad, lonely kid who had found a friend in Jesus. Everyone should be so lucky.

Reflecting back, I know that I have never treated anyone the way I treated Paul. I think that is why it has bothered me so much for all these years. There is no way to apologize. No way to take it back. The only thing I can think to do is to teach my children how to love the unloved...even if it means they aren't as "cool"....so they don't live to regret it.