I saw pure, authentic enthusiasm from caring middle schoolers today…

They could so easily understand (better than most adults) how they could have an impact on a peer’s life by spending their time intentionally creating, both through words and crochet, a gesture of kindness with Med Snugglers.

When I spoke about my background in mental health administration and that I helped the helpers (clinicians), they listened respectfully.

When I mentioned how kids can stay a week in an inpatient unit or a month in a residential program, they listened respectfully.

When I said some kids feel really down when taking meds, several hands went up.

When I confessed that my video tutorials for Med Snugglers were not so great and that I wanted their advice on how to make things better, one student shared that they don’t really have a filter anyway, as they are on the spectrum.

I thanked them for sharing with me.

They descended on the project bags like a swarm of excited bumble bees 🐝

Some students were brand new to crochet and some were very experienced. The range was awesome as they were/are learning, growing and giving together.

On the way out of the office a staff member offered to give me her mother’s yarn collection. Her mother had passed away not long ago. She said her mom would have wanted the yarn to go to a place that could truly use it.

I felt honored, as today also happened to be my mother’s yahrtzeit.

Whether irony, fate, or sheer coincidence, my cup is overflowing as I watch the most kind hearted messages from these kids flowing through. I cannot wait to pass them out into the world.

Hooray for middle schoolers.

Hooray for crochet clubs.

Hooray for middle school teachers and staff.

Hooray for taking professional leaps.

These awesome kids are ‘my people’ and they are going to be awesome adults, who change this world.

Full. Stop.

Janessa