Bye-Bye, Miss Pam :-(

One of the boys’ teachers died Sunday. Miss Pam was 49 years old and was taking medication for a heart condition. Reports are that Miss Pam’s daughter found her, unresponsive, in her home.

Miss Pam was so, so good to–and for–my boys.

Ruairi was in her class when he was 2.5 – 3.5 years old. He always asked if she could come home with him. He asked her out to dinner often. He snuggled with her. During our parent-teacher meeting, Miss Pam told me Ruairi was one of the smartest children she’d ever had (she was a public school teacher for many years) and that we should strive to keep him busy and challenged, and not let him get bored in school.

Liam has been in Miss Pam’s class for almost a year. And even though he’s more of a wrestler than a snuggler, and he’s never asked Miss Pam out to dinner, he loves her and respects her no-nonsense, take-no-guff attitude. On weekends, when the boys are not in school, I’ll overhear them “playing Kidwatch” in their room. Liam is “Miss Pam” and Ruairi is “Miss Jackie” or “Miss Coco” and the two of them conduct class as if they are the teachers and all the stuffed animals are the students.

And Miss Pam, like all of the teachers at Kidwatch, was aware of, attentive to, and accommodating of Liam’s inherited skin condition, epidermolysis bullosa (EB) simplex. She made sure he didn’t walk too far with blistered feet, and took his socks off during nap-time.

Recently, I told a co-worker–whose husband is an elementary school music teacher–that a good teacher really makes a difference in a kid’s life. And it’s true. My kids spend a lot more time with their teachers, on a daily basis, than they do with Patrick or with me. It is so important for young children to have great role models and good, decent people whom they trust and love.

Miss Pam had a big laugh and a big attitude. She was a person that I think I’d enjoy knowing even if she wasn’t my kids’ teacher. As a parent of young children, I want to know that teachers know what to do in every situation because frankly sometimes I don’t. I want them to really know my kids and report the truth. I want them to give me suggestions and direction. And Miss Pam just seemed to know all of that stuff.

When Patrick called me at work to tell me the news this morning, I wondered aloud why good people have to die early and all the menaces-to-society seem to stick around forever. I guess I’ll never know. We were very lucky to have Miss Pam at Kidwatch for the last five years. And we will miss her very much. I feel like I should have known her better.