About Me:

Aloha! I'm Wendy Kennar. I'm the mother of a seven-year-old son and a wife living in Los Angeles. I was a public school teacher for twelve years until a chronic medical condition made it necessary to leave my teaching career.

I've always been described as "quiet" - really, I'm just biting my tongue. I've got lots to say, and lots of thoughts to share, I just prefer to write them. That's the purpose of this blog. Each Wednesday, I post a personal essay offering my observations and thoughts.

A few fun facts about me: I've wanted to be a writer since second grade, when my teacher, Mrs. Jones, made me a "book" with a yellow construction paper cover. I have never learned to whistle, have always preferred sunflowers to roses, and have spent my life living within the same zip code.

Through the years, my writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, United Teacher, GreenPrints, L.A. Parent, DivineCaroline.com, RoleReboot.org, XOJane, and Brain, Child Magazine. Additionally, my personal essays have been included in several anthologies, including: The Barefoot Review, Beyond the Diaper Bag, Lessons From My Parents, Write for Light, Being a Grown-Up: A User's Manual for the Real World, Ka-Pow!, How Writing Can Get You Through Tough Times, Breath and Shadow, The Grey Wolfe Storybook, and Sisters Born, Sisters Found.
I am a regular contributor at MomsLA.com, and you can also find me at Goodreads.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Feel free to comment and share my blog with others!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Miracles


“It is a miracle if you can find true friends, and it is a miracle if you have enough food to eat, and it is a miracle if you get to spend your days and evenings doing whatever it is you like to do, and the holiday season - like all the other seasons - is a good time not only to tell stories of miracles, but to think about the miracles in your own life, and to be grateful for them.”
- Lemony Snicket, The Lump of Coal



We’re surrounded by miracles.  My son is a miracle.  Being able to walk is a miracle I no longer take for granted, not since days and weeks spent in a wheelchair and reliant on a walker.  

The human body is indeed a miracle.  The way it works or doesn’t work.  The way it can repair itself.  The way it grows and evolves.  The way it can fail and break down.

Thanks to technological advances, medical miracles are a fact.  And recently, I am full of gratitude for a medical miracle.  One of my former students (I taught her two years ago) was diagnosed with a heart condition this past summer.  She was tall and athletic.  Boisterous and loud.  Messy and disruptive.  Difficult and defiant.  Personable and friendly.  She and I always hugged when we saw each other in the hall.  And then one day, she and her family learned her heart was no longer doing its job and her life was in peril.

For approximately five months, M. has awaited a heart transplant at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.  Life goes on for us.  Monday through Friday, my students take attendance, learn new vocabulary words, learn the states and capitals.  But we also made time to remember M.  My students have written letters, drawn pictures, and sent notes to M. to let her know she isn’t forgotten.  I have sent her a novel and Mad Libs and notes telling her I love her.

Miracles happen.  Monday morning, I learned that M. received a new heart on Sunday.  And as I write this, the surgery is being deemed successful.  My class is busy preparing a new batch of cards and notes to send her during her recovery.  And on my whiteboard at the front of the classroom, is a heart with M.’s name inside.  She is one of the many miracles in my life that I am grateful for.

3 comments:

  1. Life is certainly full of miracles.One never knows from one day to the next.I pray everyday for a miracle that will take away this disease you have and take away all the pain you are going through.I ask myself why this has happened to you and I have been told before don't ask why as there are no answers,but I am still hoping for that miracle for you.I love you and I am so proud of you.Ryan is certainly a miracle.
    love,mommy

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  2. Life is full of miracles and I have had my share. Your Mother is a miracle as is our children and grandchildren. I guess I am greedy, but I want one more miracle and that is for you to regain your health. You truely are a special person, I admire your many accomplishments. Your Mother and I are proud of you.

    Love, Dad

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  3. Honey,
    This is a beautiful story you have told. Keep up the great work with your writing.
    I am very grateful for you and Ryan.
    I Love You!
    Paul

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