The Best Souvenir Money Can't Buy

I went to Florida a couple weeks ago to visit my friend Leah and to help at the children's home and school where she works. I got to do a lot of things while I was there-- from a boat ride to see manatees, to making Valentines with the boys at the home, to helping in the classroom, to holding and singing to the sick 3-year-old in the middle of the night while trying to get his fever to go down. My last morning there I taught a writing workshop, focusing in part on narrative vs. expository essays. We wrote, we edited, we read our essays to each other. We edited some more (anyone who's had me as a teacher knows how much I love the revision process...).

Andrew, the 11-year-old won my heart from the beginning of my visit. But still, I wasn't expecting to get as attached to them as I did.

"Are you really surprised?" my dad asked me when I told him this.

But I really was surprised. I knew I'd enjoy my time there, but somehow I didn't expect to have such a hard time leaving. I took a lot of pictures; my thought was to print one as a souvenir of my time there and to put it next to my mirror as a reminder to pray for the home and the boys I'd grown to love even during such a short visit.

And then today I got another souvenir-- unexpected, unrequested, and yet one I'll treasure for a very long time.


Dear Miss Anne,

Here is my essay about my favorite times with you. Do you think it is a narrative or an expository essay?

Thank you for coming over and I hope you had a nice flight back.

Have a nice week.

Andrew


How was my time with Miss Anne? Well, I will tell you. It was the best time yet, and here are some reasons. They are that she played with me and took pictures of me.

My reason why we had a good time is that we played together. First, we played with my transformers and that was when I was sick. Then, we made some Valentines together. To sum up this paragraph, Miss Anne is a fun person to have around all the time, especially to play with.

Next, she took pictures of me, and that is another reason why we had a good time. She took pictures of me when I was climbing a tree at General Ken’s house. She took pictures of me at the Rainbow River Club. Then, she took pictures of me in my New York shirt. Pictures help me to remember the events that happened.

Last of all, as already mentioned before, the reasons why I had a good time with Miss Anne are that she played with me and took pictures of me. From that week forth I will never forget how nice she was to me and Miss Leah.