Reconnecting with Carlita

by Neffitina Thompson

December is Remembrance Month at The Worthy Educator!

Thank you for inviting me to share a favorite holiday memory. This year, mine is actually unfolding in real time, and it feels like the kind of full-circle moment you only see in movies.

For 47 years, my mother has been looking for one of her dearest friends, Marlene. When I was a toddler, my mom and Marlene would take their daughters — me and her daughter, Carlita — to the park. She often told me how they would sit on the benches watching us “read” our picture books and say, “One day these girls are going to grow up to be teachers.”

Life happened, as it often does, and they lost contact. But my mother never stopped wondering about Marlene and Carlita. For decades she would mention them, remembering those simple moments at the park and hoping they were doing well.

This week, 47 years later, we found Carlita on Facebook. Not only did we reconnect, but we learned that she earned her doctorate about the same time I did, that we both went into education, and that we both have twin grandchildren. What started as two young moms in the park dreaming about their little girls’ futures has come full circle in the most unexpected, beautiful way.

This reconnection feels like a holiday gift — a reminder that love, memory, and hope can stretch across years and still find their way back home.

My wish for everyone this season is that you experience a moment of unexpected joy like this — a reconnection, a soft place of remembrance, or a gentle reminder that the people and stories we carry in our hearts are never truly lost.

Neffitina Thompson, widely known as Dr. T the Pre K Guru, has a career that bridges the worlds of early childhood education, leadership development, and workforce transformation, making it her mission to improve the systems that shape the educators who shape young lives. You can reach out to Neffitina to discuss reconnecting with Carlita and her important work in education by contacting her via email here.