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I'm not sure where this story came from but I thought it was very inspiring.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
 
 
     Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the very first
day of school in the fall and told the children a lie.  Like most teachers,
she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same, that
she would treat them all alike.  And that was impossible because there in
front of her, slumped in his seat on the third row, was a little boy named
Teddy Stoddard.

      Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn't
play well with the other children, that his clothes were unkempt and  that he
constantly needed a bath.  And Teddy was  unpleasant.  It got  to the point
during the first few months that she would actually take delight  in marking
his papers with a broad red pen, making  bold X's and then marking the F at
the top of the paper biggest of all.

     Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, no one else seemed to enjoy him,
either.  At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review
each child's records and put Teddy's off until last.  When she opened his
file, she was in for a surprise.

   His first-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child
with a ready laugh.  He does his work neatly and has good manners...he
is a joy to be around."

     His second-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student well- liked
by his classmates, but he is troubled because his  mother has a terminal
illness and life at home must be a struggle."

     His third-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy continues to work hard but his
mother's death has been hard on him.  He tries to do his best but his father
doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

     Teddy's fourth-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show
much interest in school.   He doesn't have many friends  and sometimes sleeps
in class.  He is tardy and could become a problem.

     By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem but Christmas was coming fast.
It was all she could do, with the school play and all, until the day before
the holidays began and she was suddenly forced to focus on Teddy Stoddard.
     Her children brought her presents, all in beautiful ribbon and bright
paper, except for Teddy's, which was clumsily wrapped in  the heavy, brown
paper of a scissored grocery bag.

      Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents.
Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet
with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of
cologne.  She stifled the children's laughter when she ex-claimed how pretty
the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume  behind the
other wrist.

   Teddy Stoddard stayed behind just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson,
today you smelled just like my mom used to."   After the children left
she cried for at least an hour.  On that very day, she quit teaching
reading, and writing, and speaking.  Instead, she began to teach children.
     Jean Thompson paid particular attention to one they all called "Teddy."
As she worked with  him, his mind seemed to come alive.  The more she
encouraged  him, the faster he  responded. 

On days there would be an important test, Mrs.  Thompson  would 
remember that cologne.  By the end of the year he had  become one  of the smartest  children in the class and...well, he had  also become  the "pet" of the teacher who had once vowed to love all of  her children exactly the same.

     A year later she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her
that of all the teachers he'd had in elementary school, she was his favorite.

    Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy.  He then wrote
that he had finished high school, third in his class,  and  she was still his
favorite teacher of all time.

    Four years after that,  she got  another  letter, saying that while things
had been tough  at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it,  and
would graduate  from college with the highest of honors.  He assured
Mrs.Thompson she was  still his favorite  teacher.

    Then, four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time  he
explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little
further.  The letter explained that she was still his favorite teacher  but
that now his name was a little longer.  The letter  was signed,
Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

     The story doesn't end there.  You see there was yet another letter that
Spring.  Teddy said he'd met this girl and was to be married.  He explained
that his father had died a couple of years ago and he  was wondering...well,
if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the pew  usually reserved for the
mother of the groom.  And guess what, she wore  that bracelet, the one with
several rhinestones missing.

   And I bet on that special day, Jean Thompson smelled just like... well,
just like the way  Teddy remembered his mother smelling on their last
Christmas together.

THE MORAL:
  You never can tell what type of impact you may make on another's life by
your actions or lack of action.  Consider this fact in  your venture through life.
from "Chicken Soup for the Soul"
 

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