The Child Whisperer | A Legacy of Love and Mischief

I used to work with an extraordinary lady who I called the Child Whisperer. She had been working in early education since she was a child and had over 60 years of experience in this field. Two years ago, she fell ill and we lost her. She was the heart of our center, everyone's Grandmother, and everyone cherished her.

During the funeral, about 30 current and former coworkers, teachers, and families she had impacted all sat in the same section of the large church where the service was held. We joked that it was the "company title" section. Besides, about halfway through the service, the speaker was talking about her career and how much she loved taking care of her babies—during this moment, a large wreath hung on the church wall, right next to our section, fell to the ground. We all looked at it and each other. We chuckled because she WOULD do that, the little spitfire.

About six months after her passing, a coworker and I were talking while working in her old classroom. I was changing a diaper in the diaper-changing area while she was in the classroom area. Two classrooms were connected by a diapering area with a door to each classroom. Suddenly, the door to the other classroom (which was empty) flew open and hit the wall. I thought someone had walked through the classroom or something, even though we didn't see anyone. I wrapped up and checked the room. Empty. My coworker said "NOPE!" and moved her and her two babies to the back of the room.

Last year, a coworker of mine and I were having a discussion. She was getting ready to go on break and had her phone sitting on the half wall in the classroom, about five feet from where we were standing. During our discussion, her phone flew off the half wall onto the floor. We both halted, looked at the phone on the floor. She calmly said "Well, then."

The building is 40 years old, and our work Grandmother worked there since it had opened. I'm not sure of the timeline, but years ago, the center had tragically lost an infant to SIDS while at the center. This was not the only event that happened at this building—there was another one before she had passed away.