Jan. 8, 2016
By Sandra Brown Turner
For my friend of 40+ years, Dr. Thomas Moore
Dr. Thomas Moore and I became acquaintances back in the ’70s when we were both just starting out in the field of Early Childhood Education. We were just Thomas and Sandy then.
Each year as our professional lives grew, so did our friendship. We have had long, deep talks about life, our hearts, our souls, children, teaching, the world, race, masculine vs. feminine, masculine AND feminine, the Universe, which has formed a space in each other’s heart that belongs to only us. This is not a romantic space, although we have talked about the meaning of romance too. As I say to him each time we talk, “I love you in the Thomas place in my heart.” He responds with, “There is only one Sandy place in my heart.”
The truth of the heart matter is that Thomas and I understand each other. We accept each other as we are, close to perfect but alas, flawed humans. We respect each other’s understanding. We trust each other’s intentions. The only expectation we have is that we just agape love each other; judgement has no place where there is agape love.
So when one of my little kindergarteners came into my office back in September 2015 with lots of body twisting and big eyes to ask me, “Ms. Sandy, when is Mr. Dr. Thomas Moore EVER going to come back to Lipman School????”, I immediately called Thomas to ask him to join us for our 14th annual Peace Day Celebration. He has been with us for Peace Day before, so he knew how very life-affirming, even sacred, the day would be.
The best part of him joining us is that I got to introduce my old friend, Thomas, to a whole group of new young friends who now love him like I do.
