Starting Over

Last week seemed to come full circle for me and helped clear some of the fog in my head.  We had our monthly school board meeting on Tuesday night which ran later than usual.  There was some follow up action for me from that meeting and in the course of it I also had the opportunity to exchange ideas with some area leaders.  And then I came across this article about a young man beginning to navigate his way into the workforce.  Check out the letter he penned to future employers:

Now no sooner did I read this was I presented with a flashback from 2 decades ago during a conversation with those same others.  I was asked to describe a moment in time I made a connection – that wasn’t the exact question but hopefully you get the idea.  And subsequently I remembered one student in particular.  I was fresh from Smart U and ready to solve everything; one of my first students was on the spectrum and struggling with 6^th grade.  I got to spend 2 years with him before I moved on to central office but I still went back and checked on him during his 8^th grade year.  He went on to a different school system for high school and we lost touch. 

Ten years later I got an email from that same student – I couldn’t do much of anything for the rest of that day.  He wanted me to know he finished high school and graduated from college, and was working in an outreach center to help others like him who struggled in social situations.  He told me I was the only one who made him feel normal and as humbled as I was, I quietly wept knowing I had no idea what he went through.

Chris Stapleton is another country music artist I follow and by my estimates released a perfect response track to COVID.  There’s more to the story than I’ve studied up on but in late August of last year he apparently checked out on social media and created a stir.  He’s a bit of a rebel rouser and the next day he released “Starting Over” – click here for the full track which also features his wife who is another singer-songwriter.  The whole song resonated with me but I was inspired by this part in particular:

Nobody wins afraid of losing

And the hard roads are the ones worth choosing

Grace and Grief was the topic my pastor addressed last week – it’s been a long COVID year.  His message was one of hope and one I tend to agree with.  I am hopeful, even if I’m starting over like so many of you.  My litmus test has always been would I tell my kids what I’m doing; if not, then I’m surely misbehaving!  My mom always had a way of extending her pervasive influence without effort because she just had that type of heart; my dad’s a good one too but our compassion has been learned by a great teacher.  I had a long talk with my own teacher wife a few days ago and I was reminded of how strong she is; 1^st grade teachers are immune to tears so take your best shot – they deal with it all day long.  They see folks young and old alike at their most vulnerable and they make them winners.