Infinity Words

Eight of my favorite words are - genius, simple, beauty, plain, wonder, ordinary, courage and human.

I chose eight because the number 8 is the symbol for infinity standing up.

They are my infinity words.

I’m thinking about these words because they describe a person, a moment and a gift.

The person is one of my students. 

She is from Honduras. 

She is an ordinary ten-year-old.

She is extraordinary, too.

She has a learning disability. 

She has to work twice as hard to learn half as much as her non-disabled peers.

She works infinity times harder than most other students.

After over 100 days of being her teacher, I already knew her life makes the world a more beautiful and wonderful place.

The serendipity for me was learning that she is a genius. 

A kind genius at that.

And that takes me to a moment.

At 7:45 a.m., she appeared at my classroom door with a twinkle in her brown eyes and a smile on her earthy face that brightened my classroom and lightened my heart.

“Mr. Barton,” she said in her Spanish/English that endears her to me, “I painted this for you.”

She held up a small canvas.

And that brings me to the gift.

Look at the painting.

See the simple genius.

See the plain beauty.

See the ordinary wonder.

See the courageously human.

See.