Elevator Ride

My 7th grade student that I'm mentoring, we'll call her M, is on my mind this morning. I will see her later today and I'm reflecting on last weeks time. I met her in the hallway of the Middle School and asked her to sit down on the bench for a minute.

I offered her a couple of ideas, "We could go into the counselor's office and play a game, we could go into the Library and share some conversation, reading magazines, etc or we could go outside and walk the track." She stared thoughtfully at me.
"Or," I said, shoulders shrugging, "you could pick something else you'd like to do."
Her eyes instantly lit up and her face became bright. "Could we ride the elevator?" she beamed hopefully at me.
"Of course we can!!" I was so excited to have an open door from this shy and introverted girl.

We rode the elevator, several times, and when we came out she was almost skipping down the hall. She told me that ever since she started at this school she has wanted to ride the elevator, but didn't want to break the rules. She had recently befriended two girls, one blind and one wheelchair bound, in hopes that one day she would get to ride with them in the elevator. She was elated to do something that had been so elusive to her just moments before. It was as if the possibility of achieving the impossible had landed right into her hands and she could feel it! This quiet and shy girl, who 1 week ago could barely tell me her favorite color or hobby, proceeded to tell me all about her dreams, her goals, her friends, her family, and even her passions for the next 40 minutes. I wonder what marvelous mystery awaits M and me today?