On the occasion of Valentine's day, a day to remember the joys of Love, i thought i might share some lovely moments from my life as of late. There are times in this work when from behind the child you are working with, some deeper wisdom rears its coy little head, something that speaks from a place beyond yet unbeknownst to the child. Here are the examples that i can remember, plus a little story i heard.

As i was putting a little boy down for his nap just the other day we were reading his story in which the protagonist is featured throughout the book in the illustrations, sometimes hidden on the page but always somewhere to be found. This particular book appears a very San Francisco children's book, touching on themes of universality in diversity, love and understanding for all and the importance of open-mindedness. Throughout the story he would consistently search for the character and let me known when he had found him, "There he is, Derek. Oh look he's over there!" Well this went on for some time until i finally commented on his dedication to the task, at which point he said (or perhaps responded,) "God is everywhere," and before i could recover from the shock of hearing this he continued, "he's a shadow." And that was that. No follow up. No explanation. I tried a bit to ask but he had already moved on.

In another moment we were outside ogling a snail as it slunk through the garden. A circle of little heads surrounded the creature as it made its slow and slimy way along the dirt. To make things interesting i tried suggesting possible destinations for the snail. "Do you think he's going back home? Maybe he's going out to the grocery store?" At which point one little girl with a particular amount of character turned to me and said with no lack of conviction, "Noooooo!"
"Ok," i replied, "then tell me where he's going."
With a confident stroke of her finger she pointed to the very spot where the snail was and said, "Right here."

Today i was in the middle of the post-lunch chaos, a time when the children in some order are trying to find time to wash their hands and use one of the two bathrooms between the time they finish their meal and nap time. An older child was seated, awaiting his turn in the bathroom and for some reason smacked me on the hand as i went by. Not in the mood for tomfoolery, i bent down and began to lay into him a bit for his behavior. It occurred to me at one point that perhaps i should let up and had said enough, though i continued to say my piece until i was satisfied. I was stressed and needed vindication. Immediately after i was finished he casually looked down at my bracelet, the bracelet that was used as proof of payment at a spiritual retreat i attended in the fall which i still wear, and he asked, "What does your bracelet say?"
'Fill you heart with Love and express it in everything you do,' my bracelet reads.
"That's a very good question," i replied.

And the last and final story was told by Carol, my supervisor, second hand from some friends of hers. Apparently the friends had a four-year-old child and had just brought a newborn into the world. From the time the four-year old met her younger sibling she was insistent about wanting to be alone with it. She was so insistent, in fact, that it worried the parents enough to make them wary of leaving her alone with the baby. Undaunted, the child persisted until finally the parents agreed to let the child have a few moments in the room with the baby. Before this could happen however, the parents put the baby monitor right next to the crib, turned it up to full-blast and stood outside with ears pressed against the door. Shortly thereafter, through the speaker of the monitor they heard the following,
"I want you to tell me about God again - I'm forgetting."

It gives me chills even writing it.

Happy Valentines Day. Spread the Love.

For those of you who are planning a visit to West Oakland anytime soon, i thought i might provide a little vocabulary primer to acquaint you with some of the terms you might encounter along the way. For example, a 9-year old approaches you and says, "yo my stunners are baller!" he means:

A) he is good at basketball
B) he is learning about stingrays in school
C) his sunglasses are cool

give up? The answer is 'C'. 'Stunners' or 'Stunner Shades' are all the rage in hip-hop fashion. Popularized in hip hop songs and flouted by popular performers, these seemingly retro, wraparound sunglasses have made a 'stunning' comeback in pop-culture. 'Baller', meanwhile, is a term to express approval. Originally this word was used to describe an invidual who possessed exceptional skills in basketball. Eventually, the word became an adjective to describe anything exceptional. If i were to complement another's sunglasses, for example, i could simply say, "Baller Stunners, Son." The usage of the word 'son' has also become common, used between peers as a sort of tongue-in-cheek statement on status between two parties. Frequently on the street ball court, if one individual should excel over another considerably, he takes the liberty of heartily exclaiming, "That's right Son!" in the face of his erstwhile opponent.

Another important fashion detail is the 'Air Force' sneaker. 'Air Force' is a sneaker manufactured by Nike and worn by hip-hop professionals the world over. An individual who owns both Stunner shades and Air Forces automatically qualifies as 'Baller'.

One's automobile is an outstanding status symbol in this area, and a surefire mark of a high-roller is the presence of 'spinners' on his hubcaps. Spinners are a rotating addition to the caps which spin rapidly, long after the car has come to a stop. Normally these embellishments are fashioned of highly reflective stainless steel or some such material and go to great lengths to be as 'bling-bling' as possible.

'Bling-bling' is a term used to denote wealth, especially material wealth including gold, diamonds and other expensive jewelry. This term can also refer to cars, houses, watches and other luxuries. This term comes from the onomatopoeia 'bling', a sound made by the reflective shine of an object. Bling-bling can also refer to an individual's 'grill', or decorative tooth-capping often done with diamonds and gold. Also promoted by hip-hop culture, the 'grill' has taken a dental approach to the 'bling-bling' effort.

Particular to the Bay Area is 'hyphy', a term which wikipedia describes as "...dictated by more uptempo beats. An individual is said to "get hyphy" when they act or dance in an overstated and ridiculous manner," is a word which can be used to described anything of a similarly overstated manner. It also carries with it a certain sense of Bay Area pride. The local ice cream truck is called, "Hyphy Icy" and it blasts hip-hop beats with lyrics about ice cream.

If you have made it this far congratulations, because you have just completed the introductory language course for your visit to West Oakland. With these terms in mind, you will be able to communicate your basic needs and prove that you are 'baller' with minimal effort.
So put your stunner shades on, flash your grill and prepare to get hyphy.