"It's my turn to put my arm around you"

Today we had our Celebration of Lifelong Learning. I think it went really well. Originally, I was to have a much bigger role in the Celebration, but because of my injury, the planning team ensured there was someone available to do the things I was supposed to do. It was nice to just sit back and watch it all unfold. I noticed that at least half of the people who were celebrated were people who were my 'clients' - some only for small things and moved on, others who I meet or met with regularly for quite some time. Both of the people who got their Grade 12 equivalent were people I am quite involved with. It was special to see them being celebrated for their accomplishments. There were other courses celebrated as well - from sewing to drawing to money management (the course I was involved with) to a university equivalent course. The church the ceremony and dinner was in was decorated beautifully. Can't say much for the comfort of the benches though. The benches were sloped at this weird curved angle towards the centre of the church so I kept on sliding or having to shift the way I was sitting so my back wouldn't get sore. Oh well. It's still a beautiful church.

One thing that was special - A picture was taken of me and one of the guests whom I have worked with a lot ... she is one of the people who finished her GED. Now she will be starting college in January. Since my arm is broken and she was sitting on that side, I could not put my arm around her. She told me, "It's my turn to put my arm around you". That really touched me!