Hi friend,
Welcome back.
I'm so glad that you joined me again today.
My name is Teresa Marie and I'm going to be reading a story titled The Day You Began by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael Lopez.
So if you haven't already,
Go grab your sip of water and make sure you've used the restroom so that we can get comfortable together and relaxing either sitting in a chair or lying down maybe on your bed or the couch.
Just get comfortable,
Get your pillow,
Grab a blanket,
Maybe your favorite snuggle toy that you want to relax and either go to sleep with or just have some quiet time right now.
As we begin to slow down let's close your eyes if you feel comfortable and safe to do so and we can take a couple of deep breaths together.
We'll breathe in through our nose and blow out through our mouth.
Breathe in through our nose and we can blow it out through our mouth.
And just start to let the rest of your day begin to melt away.
Start to relax and listen to the sound of my voice.
We can give our brains and our mind a break and let them listen to a story also.
Alright,
Let me go.
There will be times when you walk into a room and there is no one quite like you.
Maybe it will be your skin,
Your clothes,
Or the curl in your hair.
There will be times when no one understands the words that curl from your mouth,
The beautiful language of the country you left behind.
My name is Rigoberto.
We just moved here from Venezuela and because they don't understand the classroom will fill with laughter until the teacher quiets everyone.
Rigoberto from Venezuela,
Your teacher says so soft and beautifully that your name and homeland sounds like flowers blooming the first bright notes of a song.
There will be times when words don't come.
Your own voice once huge,
Now smaller.
When the teacher asks,
What did you do last summer?
Tell the class your story.
We went to France,
Kayla said.
These shells came from a beach in Maine.
A boy named Jonathan holds out a jar filled with tiny shells so fragile that they look like they'll turn to dust in your own untraveled hands.
My whole family went to India,
Spain,
South Carolina.
Each souvenir a small triumphant of their journey,
Their travels going on and on.
And as you stand in front of that room,
You can only remember how the heat waved as it lifted off the curb and you spent your days at home caring for your little sister who made you laugh out loud and hugged you hard at nap time.
You can only remember the books you kept on reading long after she had fallen to sleep.
And in that room where no one else is quite like you,
You'll look down at your own empty hands and wonder,
What good is this when other students were flying and sailing and going somewhere?
There will be times when the lunch your mother packed for you is too strange or too unfamiliar for others to love as you do.
When even your own friend Nadja will wrinkle her nose and say,
What's in there anyway?
And you'll wonder how she doesn't see the rice beneath the meat in the kimchi.
You'll wonder why she doesn't remember that rice is the most popular food in the world.
There will be times when climbing the bars are too high,
The run is too fast and too far,
The game isn't one you can even really play.
I don't want him on our team.
You can watch.
Maybe you can have a turn later.
There will be times when the world feels like a place that you're standing all the way outside of.
And all of that standing beside you is your own brave self.
Steady as a steel and ready even though you don't know yet what you're ready for.
There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you until the day you begin to share your stories.
My name is Angelina and I spent my whole summer with my little sister,
You tell the class,
Your voice stronger than it was a minute ago,
Reading books and telling stories and even though we were right on our block,
It was like we got to go everywhere.
Your name is like my sister's,
Rigoberto said.
Her name is Angelina too.
And all at once in the room where no one else was quite like you,
The world opens itself up just a little wider to make some space for you.
This is the day you begin to find the places inside your laughter and your lunches,
Your books,
Your travel and your stories.
Wherever a new friend has something a little like you and something else is so fabulously not quite like you at all.
The end.
I hope you enjoyed this storybook as much as I enjoyed reading it to you.
It's another one of my favorites.
And if you'd like and you still have the time,
Keep still and just keep relaxing where you are laying for a few more minutes before either heading to sleep or continuing on with your day.
And as always,
I love to remind you how much of a miracle you are to so many people in your life.
I don't want you to ever forget that.
And in closing,
When I say Namaste,
It means the light in me sees the light in you.
So until next time,
Namaste,
Sweetheart.
