Phillippe

We got some news today about one of my son's teachers.   He has been learning Spanish since he was four-years-old.   We Ms. Carina as did my son and when she decided to stop teaching to spend more time with her young children, we were sad.   That is until Mr. Phillipe replaced her.  He was a single man on a campus of all women administrators, staff, and teachers but he fit right in and never seemed to mind.  He was always happy and my son liked him immediately. 

The next year when Mr. Phillipe offered Chess Club after school, my son joined that and while he wasn't ever that good at chess, he liked being in the class.   Last school year, Mr. Phillippe hadn't been feeling well for some time and around Christmas, he discovered he had lung cancer and had to take time off to pursue treatment. 

The children were sad and concerned.  They wrote him letters and sent well-wishes.   In his absence, Ms. Carina came back to help and has stayed on with the school.  Today, we received a message that Phillippe had died last night.

My husband and I decided to tell my son tonight when the time was right.   I wasn't sure when that would be or how he would react.   The time seemed to present itself when he and I were folding laundry together.   When I told him he put his head under the clothes and said, "nooo...".  Then he sat up and talked to me about him.   

We talked about chess club and all the things he taught my son.   I said every time he played chess he could remember Mr. Phillipe.   My son got an idea, saying he could remember every time he did (and here is where he couldn't remember the name of the move) in chess, he would remember Mr. Phillipe.   I told him that would be a lovely way to honor his memory.  

Then my son looked at me and said, "he was too good to die."   I'll miss him too, I said. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son has, by choice, spent time playing with his sister today instead of wanting to be on the computer.  They have some new made up games they're playing together that doesn't require my daughter to need to see.   I don't think he thinks of the games in that way and they're no less fun.   

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter has either been dysregulated because something is bothering her a lot these past few days or she is going a bit mad from all the COVID-19 indoors and alone.   The weather has been rotten and her friends can't come inside and haven't been around even so.   She did some LEGO work with her father today but she was almost mean to him the whole time but not in any way that made sense.   Maybe Dhruti will help her when she sees her this week.