If you’ve ever had an”aha” moment, you know that it is unforgettable. The feeling is intoxicating!  You will always remember that moment when the light bulb goes on.

Having the opportunity to reach someone through teaching is an honor and a privilege.  I have been fortunate enough to have taught in many different settings. Of the special moments I have experienced, there are two examples that stand out in my memory.

I worked with a young man who was deaf and whose education had been thwarted by the circumstances of his health.  He and I were doing arithmetic.  When I started to use different visual aids that I had made for him, I could see a light in his eye.  When he figured out that he could do it himself he was so amazed and excited by it that he just kept doing problem after problem on his own.  He was so proud of himself. What a joyful experience!

Coincidentally, at another job I had, I worked with a young woman who was also deaf.  She was developmentally disabled and I worked with her in her apartment, teaching her how to do things for herself.  She had a hard time with the concept of “why.”  She knew the meaning of “who,” “what” “where’” and “how”, but “why” is a word that requires one to think critically.  This was a puzzle to her.

I knew she loved snow.  I asked her, “Why do you love snow?”  She signed, “I like snow.”  I said, “But, why do you like snow?”  Again she signed, “I like snow.”  Okay, I thought.  Not today.

I continued to ask her again and again when the opportunity arose, and she continued to say the same thing.  Until one day, when I asked her, she signed, “Pretty.”  “Yes!’” I signed.  I continued. “Why else?”  She signed, “Play in the snow.”  These were the first two times that she had given me a reason.  She was excited.  I was excited.  It was wonderful.

It didn’t matter that the next time I asked a “why” question, she didn’t have an answer.  She had begun to understand a complex concept, and we were finally on a new journey together.

In the scheme of things, many days are the same.  They pass by and we don’t remember the details because they are ordinary.  But sometimes, if you are lucky, you experience an “aha” moment.  That’s something you don’t forget, but instead, celebrate it each time you remember it.  And that is a darn good feeling.