Salad for thirty chopped and tossed, I headed out in the early evening hours for the monthly meeting of my coterie. This group of like minded people have become my friends. There, just as in church, I’m slowly pairing names with faces, meeting more people every time I attend a function. It was for this group I offered the use of the RV barn for storage of the yard sale items, which will occur Friday and Saturday at Ninja Neighbor’s house. Pray for her, and when you do, just mention Ninja Neighbor. God knows and loves her.
The meeting was held at the high school library Tuesday night. With school starting the next day, the custodial staff was putting the finishing touches on building. Halls were blindingly shiny, almost begging me to slide down them sock footed. The bathrooms glistened. Windows were without smudges or streaks. Everything ready for the first day of school. This year, that has a different meaning. A return to normalcy.
I must say, my heart ached a bit. I miss teaching. More than teaching, I miss the kids. Children are wonderful people. Creative. Whimsical. Able to think outside the box. Resourceful. Loving. Extremely kind. Respectful. At least my classes were. For the first six weeks of school, I’d wonder why I’d picked the teaching profession. By the end of the year, I could have taken the entire class to Hawaii and had a wonderful adventure. A lot happens in a school year. With respect and patience, learning is an adventure of growth. My own truth, for sure.
There are teachers more clever than their years. Those that can charm a class to do whatever she asks of them. Learning minutes are too precious to waste on the silliness of misbehavior. All students need to row in the same direction, which takes creative thinking. This teacher’s got it. She keeps a corded phone in her classroom of 1st Graders. When someone is caught doing something good, she makes a call. She reports the good behavior to Superman, Batman, or Mickey Mouse, all for the children to hear. She doesn’t raise her voice or demand her littles comply. She leads them to great behavior and discipline. The world needs a few more of her kind. I’d love to be in her class.
Meeting at the high school library, with tables and chairs placed, a food table created, hungry members, and our officers enjoying salad and fajitas, the meeting began. Just the usual stuff. Pledge of Allegiance. Minutes of past and present meetings. Treasurer’s report. Officer’s reports.
There was a request from a member for a need of drivers for Veteran’s that can’t drive West to get medical treatment. A van and gas are provided. Even lunch. The only thing needed is the ability to drive and a few hours a month to volunteer. Such a big need, fixed by someone with time and a big heart. Lots of problems in our country are made better every day by kind and generous people doing the smallest favors for another. Just listen in your own town. People need your help.
Finally, Miss Elite US Woman of Achievement 2021 spoke on domestic violence. Standing with her beautiful sash and massive crown, she delivered her message. This gorgeous blonde spoke of her own experience with domestic violence, which led her to advocate for other women not as strong as she. She told of her own struggle with an abusive first husband, and the grief he still causes her today. Abuse takes many forms. Mental. Physical. Financial. Social. All torture to the woman who often suffers quietly, telling no one. As she talked, not an eye strayed from our stunning orator. She took her ongoing nightmare and wove it into something positive and beautiful using her own experiences of loneliness and terror. Rising up, she’s a lion fighting for the rights of other abused women.
With a vision for Northwestern Nevada, she is weaving a safety net of services for women who have no voice. The battered and abused. Each night, she studies law classes as she gets closer to earning her law degree. All while making a home for her family and working at her real job. A statement on how to step up and step out to help others. Everyone has 24 hours in a day. Use them wisely. An hour is a terrible thing to waste.
Listening to her speak, it was obvious her arrows are hitting the bullseye she’s set for herself. Even as a working mother with a full and rich life, she’s found time in her busy days to do for others. A service of love. A service BECAUSE.
Her inner beauty, by the end of her presentation, radiated throughout the room. A stunning exterior, but a phenomenal soul . Touching hearts, she sparked minds between the stacks of library books. We can all do SOMETHING. Maybe we can’t reach national beauty queen status, but, we can all do something to make the world a better place for someone else. Volunteer, if only for the smallest of jobs. You just never know when you’ll be the most beautiful person in the world to someone in need.