Fluent In Crying

I have to admit The school where I work Needs everyone to be Able to speak Spanish. Because the parents do. We are an 82 percent Spanish-speaking community. I’ve taken Spanish 4 times. And I have failed Spanish 4 times. I have no idea why the Verb comes first, and I cannot get around Subject verb predicate. Probably because of a very nasty, mean 7th grade English teacher who told me once if I was a boy he would smash my face against my desk until it cracked, in front of the class. Coincidentally, this was the same year I was sent to the office 115 times for "smiling in class" by 4 different male teachers who were quite angry at my quick and snappy wit. Back to subject now. I do not “get” Spanish, So I am probably one Of the school staff who should Demand a 100 percent Hispanic staff. However, on the other hand, our children speak English, And I speak English And I’m not Actually there For the parents. But I did help One parent who Could not quit sobbing. I led her by the hand to My office. Where we Sat cuddled and crying Together, and We did not stop for A long, long time. People walked by to Stare through my Glass office walls. Some tried to come In, but I shook my Head mean. When I’m in SAVE Mode, I am 100 percent MAMA Bear, and now this mommy of a sad and angry and let's-kill-something 10- year- old boy, whom I adored, had accidentally Become one of my cubs. When we finally stopped Wailing and sobbing, and the clutching loosened, I slid her off of my lap onto another chair, then I motioned to the Phone. She nodded. Her eyes were still teary. I called Mr. R., A therapist friend who Comes to the school Through an abused woman And child center. I knew He spoke FLUENT Spanish. I said, "I'm in trouble here. I need you now. This mommy will not stop crying, and she only speaks Spanish." He said, "Thank you for trusting me with this. Please hand the phone to her." I watched in fascination as the weight of the world seemed to slide off of her back as Mr. R. spoke with her. She was the third parent of mine he had phone-helped that week, and it was only Tuesday! Mr. R. spoke to her in fluent Spanish for a while, then the Mommy who was hiccup-gulping now, handed me the phone. Mr. R. said,"Mrs. K, have the son come up with his backpack, ready to go home. Do not let them leave with any relatives or anyone. I am coming over there. NOW.” I sent for the boy, and no one questioned me, because they are all AFRAID of Mama Bear at school. Everyone knew I would scratch and hit and claw and fight to keep the Mommy and the baby bear safe. They know me. Six months later, maybe even seven months later, I was the barker for the carnival we call CONFERENCE DAY. It was my job to get the parents to sign up, and I got 145 signatures in two hours, even though I don't speak Spanish I speak PEOPLE. After barker duty, I was in the computer lab, forcing the children to coerce their parents to come in and sign up on a little survey written on the computer in Spanish. The parents were to say how wonderful our school is. I coaxed the children, who changed some of their parents answers;they spoke Mrs. K and they wanted to please me. This was the day I next saw this keening, wailing, sobbing woman. My heart recognized her, but my brain was not so sure. She had such a beautiful face when she smiled, it blew me away. She let out a scream, and came running over, and hugged me, and we jumped up and down with glee. That's when I saw her happy grinning 10-year-old son, and I knew it was she. Frankly, If I had not seen her child I might not have known that this was the same mommy I protected with my life that day in my office. She apparently Had been an Abused woman, And Mr. R. and his Magic people sneaked Her and her son out of The house the same night we shared the long "I love you and I will help you no matter what" hug. Mr. R. can keep a confidence, so I did not know she was an abused woman. All I knew was that her 10 year-old-son had spent less time with me, and every day when he got out of the cab, he yelled, "Mrs. K, my mom says, 'hi'," and I yelled back, "Tell her that I love her!" Our ten-year-old-boy Smiled now, and Seemed less likely To hurt people or Kill a locker, but I did not know why. This Mommy taught herself how to speak English in 3 months. In 6 months, she sent me A note written in ENGLISH saying how much she appreciated me and loved me. I guess I had helped her. Me, A woman who Flunked Spanish 4 Times. Maybe I don’t Need Spanish, Being fluent In people and Crying and all may be enough.