Some days she writes just one line:

I like chocolate.

Last time she told me what she could say but couldn't write:

I've lived in four places. It was hard when I had to leave all my toys.

Maybe she's 8 or 10 or 15. Maybe her story is every story of nearly every child I now can't shake.

It's Thankful Thursday and here in this dark nook is gratitude for the young girl softly sounding out words like a prayer. When we come together I am "teacher" but mostly I listen and wait. We talk, and read, and write, and she is eager and willing. With the pencil in a fierce grip, her hand labors across the page. It's not easy but slow and deliberate she inches out letter after letter. Today she has something to say:

I am the old bike asleep in the rain.

It's Thankful Thursday, a weekly pause to express gratitude for people, places and things. What are you thankful for today?