Stories from the Heart
by Kristine Brockhagen

There’s one thing I’m most proud of

Over the summer, one of the fifth grade students lost his mother due to a heart attack. His younger brother had tried to revive her using CPR he had just learned in cub scouts, but to no avail. When Logan returned the following fall, I gave him a great big hug and told him how sorry I was to learn of his mother’s death and how much I would miss her. He went on to tell me, “I have been wanting to tell you something all summer.” There is one thing I’m most proud. I always participated in the Jump Rope for Heart program. It didn’t save my mother, but maybe it will save someone else’s. In his mind he had a clear conscious knowing he had done everything in his power to save his mother.

Look what we found

One late spring afternoon while sitting at the lunch table, two First grade boys approached me with great excitement. “Look what we found!” In their collective hands were 18 pennies. The boys had been at recess and found the pennies while playing in the sand. Not knowing their intentions, I said, “Oh, that’s a wonderful find!” They said, “Mrs. Brockhagen, we want you to give this money to the American Heart Association.” I was excited that the boys, upon finding the coins, thought of someone other than themselves. I told them I would hold on to the money until the following school year when we did the Jump Rope for Heart event again. The following year, when the boys signed up to participate in the JRFH program, their collection envelope included 9 pennies.