The hands of a grateful heart thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day was near.
warning labelsThe first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment—to draw a picture of something for which they
SOLENOID VALVE were thankful.
Most of the class might be considered
fuel filtereconomically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the
centrifugal pumpsubjects of most of her students’ art. And they were.
But Douglas made a different
gate valvekind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy.
train hornHe was the teacher's true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those
leather beltsad eyes.
Yes, his picture was different. When asked to
vacuum sealerdraw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand.
His abstract image captured
air mass sensorthe imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police
multistage pumpprotect and care for people.
Dining chairStill others guessed it was the hand of God, for
kids playgroundGod feeds us. And so the discussion went—until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.
When the children had gone on
film blowing machineto other assignments, she paused at Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and murmured, "It's yours, teacher."
She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him
play equipmenthere or there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, "Take my hand, Douglas, we'll go outside." Or, "Let me show you how
outdoor play equipmentto hold your
bag making machinepencil." Or, "Let's do this together." Douglas was most
optical framesthankful for his
Rubber mat teacher's hand.
Brushing aside a tear, she went
Amusement rideon with her work.
The story speaks of more than thankfulness.
Vacuum Sealer It says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing friendship, and how much
Kitchen furniture it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks, but they'll
injection moldingremember the hand that reaches out.