哈蒂·梅·拉特裏夫/Hattie Mae Ratliff
One morning my oldest daughter, Rhonda, rushed in my front door“Mom, the most wonderful thing just happened.”
I smiled, remembering Rhonda's enthusiasm as a young girl, when she would come barreling into our home with news of her day. Now, as a wife and mother of two, she could still enerclize a room.
“Good morning, Rhonda, and a good morning to you too, sweet pea,”I said, picking up my two-year-old granddaughter.“Let's sit and have coffee and cookies. Then you can tell me all about your news.”Turning around, I looked at my daughter.“Are you pregnant?”
“No, Mom,”Rhonda answered. Sitting with her coffee cup in hand, she sighed with excitement.“Mrs. Perkins, the director of Saint Francis School, told me this morning that an anonymous person is paying Greg's tuition. Mom, they're paying his tuition for the whole year.”
Rhonda's eyes filled with tears as she grabbed my hand.“Was it you, Mom?You and dad?”
“No, I wish we could, but it wasn't us.”I said.
Rhonda and her husband, Gil had both selected the role of educators for their careers. I remembered when, as newlyweds, they set off for their first teaching jobs, ready to change the world, one child at a time, if necessary.
After Rebekah was born, Rhonda and Gil decided to tighten their belts and live on one income. Rhonda gave up her paid teaching job and became a full-time, stay-a-home mom, reserving her teaching for her own little one.
This was great for their children but hard on their pocketbook. Greg showed signs of being a gifted child and could read at the age of three. Rhonda and Gil talked at length and decided to send him to a private preschool for two days a week. The school was expensive, but it offered great teachers with small classrooms and produced good results. Knowing they would have difficulty paying the tuition alone, they had requested a partial scholarship. The director assured them this was a common practice and that they had several alumni who helped out from time to time. No one had dreamed someone would pay the whole amount of Greg's tuition.