cool kids

dear emily,

my children heard me say, more times than they wanted,
"steer clear from the cool kids at school.  they're the ones
who pressure you into changing your image, your morals,
and your integrity.

besides, they get more than their fair share of attention and
don't really need yours.   the uncool kids, on the other hand,
are desperate for a little kindness in the form of a smile,
encouraging word, or lunch partner.

these kids will accept you for yourself, not pressuring you
to change.  they're way more fun, because they're usually
more intelligent and can think outside the 'cool' box."

my self preserving skills were much too sharp to hang with
the cool kids when i was in high school.  they were very
scary to my little nerdy self.  my only transgression was to
date, and eventually marry, the nicest cool guy in school.

a few years ago, an elderly woman stopped hans to ask him
if he was the 'hans' in her daughter's history class, the one
who told her every day that her homemade dresses were
very pretty.

yep, he's the one!  my mom made a lot of my dresses, too.

love,
lea

"the King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did
for the least of these...you did for Me.' "     matthew 25:40