I lost one of my best friends recently. She died from complications from surgery. She was bright, funny, hard-working and extraordinarily talented; a teacher and skilled leader. During her career, she successfully juggled raising three children with her work, as well as serving as the director of a theater program. She spent many evenings at work, rehearsing students while her own children were with her doing homework, but she also spent lots of time attending synchronized swim meets and her own children's events and activities. She was simply an amazing woman, and I'm not the only one who can attest to that.
As I reminisce about her, her greatest gift was that she was a wonderful listener, offering good advice to those who came to her. One of my friends, one of her theater students, said she gave him a gift with a verse on it that he could recite when he graduated from college, which he still has today, some 30 plus years later. She was my friend, but for a year she was also my boss. When she left, she broke up a chess set and gave each of us that worked for her a piece of that chess set, with a note on why she selected that piece for each one. My chess piece has been on my desk since she gave it to me, and it is here today.
As you struggle to juggle your children's needs with your work, your spouse, and other obligations, at the end of the day you drop in sheer exhaustion. But somehow, it all gets done, or at least most of it gets done. I suspect most of those days you do not have a minute to reflect on what you are giving to your children, those around you, and those that you work to serve. And sometimes it is not until the end of the road, that you look back and see what tidbits of yourself you left along your journey. This individual was a leader, a mother, a teacher, a mentor, and a good friend. One of her small gestures of best wishes and hope stay with one of her charges today, 30 years later. She would be touched to know that.
Understand that what you do on a daily basis for your children and those you come in contact with does matter. You might not receive the feedback on that now or ever, but sometimes it is some small token of appreciation that stays with someone else their entire life. We should be grateful to all of those who share their gifts with us and make us better. Thank you for all you do for those you serve.