Angelica Allows Me to be Her Noni

I am posting a beautiful gift that one of my former students and now my friend/family wrote for her essay on why she is pursuing being a teacher. How grateful I am to have Angelica in my life from the time she was five years old and now that I get to be her Noni.

My earliest, happy memory I have is from when I was seven or eight in the third grade. That is when I met Noni. For those of you asking who or what is a Noni, I will tell you. A Noni is a special person that is an adoptive grandparent. Meaning they adopt everyone that they meet, know or even love. My Noni helped me through so much. Some background information is that my family was abusive, alcoholics. Back on to my point is that my Noni was my special ed teacher. She always looked out for me, my twin and the rest of my family. She was the first person to tell me that it was not my fault and that I was safe with her and our school. She also kept an eye out for us. She always made us Noni tea and always made sure we were okay. She even moved put to the middle school with us when we went. I kept in touch with my Noni through my life even after moving back to New York., joining the army, and then moving back to New Mexico. She was the one that introduced me to my now husband and the one that pushed us together with one text. “Go to the house. It is an emergency.” She was the mother/grandma figure that came to my wedding when my other family didn’t. She was the one that adopted me into a family that I always felt at home with. For that I will always have her as my earliest, happy memory. She will be the person that I will tell my kids that she is their Noni.  I will tell them stories of the adventures we went on. She will be the memory that will continue to grow even after 13ish years of knowing each other. 

Angelica has had a.bad cold the past couple of weeks so she is getting Noni tea today. I will be responsible and drop it outside her door and not give her a hug. She FaceTimes me almost everyday to keep me from being isolated in this isolation. She met her husband when we were remodeling and she was helping me paint upstairs while he did finish work downstairs. What a gift to have this chosen granddaughter that God placed in my classroom so many years ago. She was the first to give me a heart rock after Ryan died convincing me that my collection didn’t die with him.

She and Abbi were meant for each other and I am so thankful they are a part of my life.

In Him,

Joyful

2-25-20