Rest in peace, my little friend.

This image is from an ongoing series used by, with, and for the children I work with as a speech pathologist in the public schools.

Images of recognizable children are never published here or on any of The Thing of the Moment websites due to FERPA regulations and out of respect for the privacy of a 'captive' audience unable to grant their own independent consent.

But within our school community where these photos are freely shared it is the work of which I'm most proud and carries the most meaning.

This particular image was taken a week or so ago. This student had seen an image on my computer of a person holding this yoga pose and wanted to show me that he, also, could do it.

This morning he tragically perished in a fire that leveled his home.

*Update*

We've now returned to school. This student used to sit in with every speech group that I had because he fit so well with all of them and he was pleasant to have around. So when the first group came in, they matter of factly told me that the student had died and took their places around the table.

There was, of course, an awkward silence by me, but not by them. As soon as they were settled they said they wanted to look at the photos and watch the little videos we had made so that we could see and hear him again.

When we were finished they decided they wanted to create a variation of Uno (which we play incessantly) to honor him. They chose to allow a player to randomly toss in a card, out of turn, that doesn't fit the color or number scheme, just like he used to, much to our (then) irritation.

Kids can be incredible.