Today, Zinnia returned to an entire student body at Bishop Maginn High School, the first time in more than a year. Most of these students had not seen her before, and she waded in like a trooper, even though it was overwhelming at moments. The usual boy stuff – some tried to pull her tail, and she was mobbed in mass by the art class.

She took it in the stride, and hopefully, we can resume weekly visits.

There was a lot of exciting grabbing and shrieking when she was first spotted; this will calm down over time. And she seemed t drink it up, though I thought she was confused for a  second or two. She was overwhelmed, perhaps.

Zinnia has not confronted a sizeable young crowd for a while, thanks to the Pandemic. The noise and hormone levels were high.

Buy the time we left; she was soaking it. The last time we were there, there were only a handful of kids, and one was crying.

Zinnia zeroed in her and went over and put her head on her knee. She was laughing when we left. Zinnia is a spirit dog full of magic. She lights people up and brings a smile to just about any face.

We went into Sue Silverstein’s art class and kids came up in groups of three and four to touch her and get a kiss. Over time, I’ll be able to take her off the leash (as we did here and before) and she can walk among the kids as she pleases. I want to be extra cautious until she gets used to the mayhem.

I did notice students dropping bits of their sandwiches for her. There is no stopping them.

There were some touching reunions.

This (above) was the girl who cried when Zinnia last came to see her, and she left the class smiling. Zinnia has an almost mystical sense of who needs help and who doesn’t. I love hearing the shouts of joy and watching the smiles as she moves from room to room.

This is a different Bishop Maginn than last year when most of the students were studying from home and there was strict social distancing and silent hallways. BMHS has come to life and it was a great joy to go there with Zinnia.

There is tremendous energy and enthusiasm in the school; everyone is happy to be back. I so love doing this work with Zinnia at Bishop Maginn and the Mansion. I missed it greatly. Thursday morning, she and I will be at the Mansion teaching our meditation class. Zinnia loves to meditate. She is a true and sweet contemplative.

Sue Silverstein wanted me to see this powerful painting by Sau KPaw, who I wrote about last year. She is a Karen immigrant from Myanmar and wanted to speak up as the Karen culture continues to be attacked and slaughtered by the brutal Myanmar military. She wants the world to know the Karens exist and will survive. There are many brave children in that school; it is an honor to bring them joy and comfort. Ploe came over to thank me (and you) for his new mattress.

His back pain is gone.