One of my treasures...

This 'love note' was made for me not too long after I became an art teacher in Oklahoma in the 1980's. This was the only time that this little 3rd grade boy wrote me a note.. he brought it up to me and beaming the biggest smile he could manage.. said in his southern drawl, "Ms. Hand, I made this for you."

He was a full-fledged eight year old Oklahoma cowboy who happened to have a younger sister and female cousin who wore pigtails and boots. When you read what he has written- you'll know that for a little cowboy.. he has paid me the highest compliment that he could. It is a message of pure love and is so treasured that when I evacuated from the eruption of the volcano, Mt. Pinatubo, at my first overseas teaching assignment in the Philippines- I took my important papers, 3 days worth of clothing, the quilt my grandmother had made me, and this framed message with me.


The bittersweet part? His grandmother was a teacher at the same school that I was teaching at in Oklahoma. At lunch, I proudly showed the note that he had written to her. Her only comment? She pursed her lips tightly and said, "He is a terrible speller."

Personally, I think she was just jealous that he wrote it for me and not for her. :D

Here's the translation:

Dear Miss Hand,
Even though you don't wear ponytails and you don't wear boots,
you still are a country girl. I think you are a country girl.

Love,
Jayme
Buck