Small Moment

I was walking out of the drugstore when someone called out to me.

"Hey!"

I turned and there was a young man, striding towards me, a grin on his face. He looked familiar; I could not pull up the name.

When he told me, I exclaimed loudly, "Oh my gosh, look at you!"

He blushed and grinned broadly. We'd met at Juvenile Court several years ago when he was court involved. This is the first time I'd seen him since then.

He stood there catching me up. Working. Got his driver's license. Hasn't graduated from high school but is chipping away at it. He shrugged at that one: "I let some stuff get in the way."

I asked him how old he was. He's 19 now. (Another gasp from me. How did he get to be 19?) I told him how great it was to see him. I told him he looked happy and pulled-together.

He laughed. "Yeah, I learned to let things go." He ran his hand across his large Afro. "See, when bad thoughts that get me down come my way, I just let them go by. That's why I keep my hair like this—so they can just whoosh right over me."

After a few more words and a shared laugh, he turned to go into the store and I headed to my car, marveling.

I've been at Juvenile Court for a little over seven years now. I've come into contact with a wide range of kids. Most of them I interact with briefly at best. I hear about some of them through court grapevines: which ones made it, which ones are struggling, which ones we lose. So when a young person that I have worked with crosses my path and has clearly moved forward in positive ways, I am thrilled and encouraged and uplifted, all at once.

"Hey!"

I am still smiling.