You Will Leave a Mark

Today is Martin Luther King day...a day to honor a man who did much with the little time he had here.

I often wonder what he would think of the changes in our country since his death.

Have we changed that much?

Have we changed enough?

I'm not sure..

I still think there is a lot of bigotry out there. And not just about race...it extends to religion, sexual preference (uh-oh..it's the gay thing again!) and sex.

I still don't think we are all tolerant enough. We aren't open enough. We don't live without prejudice.

My blog...my opinion...

I will never understand how someone can feel superior to someone else based on skin color.

Now hair color I totally get...because I have always known I am prettier than my brunette friends because I am blonde!

Joking...JOKING...

but as ridiculous as my statement about being blonde is, there are others who feel the same way about skin color.

That is a shame.

And there are those who believe gays shouldn't have certain rights (like marriage or a legal union) or should be allowed to adopt or do certain jobs (Don't ask don't tell, anyone?)

And then there are things still denied to women...

I can go on and on but it diminishes the point I want to make here...because you get what I am saying...

have we changed enough?

Did Dr. King change us enough?

I hope so...but I'm afraid not...

sigh

Dr. King did remarkable things...he changed the world...maybe not to get it perfect, but he did affect change.

So today as I contemplated all of that (while watching Oprah discuss Dr. King) I started thinking about how we can affect change in our own little worlds.

I try to every day...I try with the kids I am around and I try to with this blog. Sometimes this blog is far more about me than helping anyone but when I am around the kids at the school, it is all about them.

I got 3 little confirmations about that this weekend...that I have done some sort of good:

1) as one sweet child waited for her parent to pick her up from the choir auditions I handed her my phone to relieve her boredom. The kids couldn't have their phones so she left hers at home. She took my phone and in the "notes" section she wrote me a note. It is personal, but what she said was the sweetest thing...it was a note of love and it made me cry to read what she said...I guess she loves me...I guess I have left a mark on her...and I love her...

2) I got a call from a friend who's son made the region choir...she told me that after GOTT called to give him the good news the first thing her son asked was "Does Mrs. D know?"...OMG, I luv luv luv him for that...I kept after him the whole night before the auditions to not yell at the wrestling meet and Saturday morning he was worried he had lost his voice...but obviously he didn't! I love it that he wanted me to know...

3) This is the best one...not so much I have done good with helping kids, but this one...well this one is one I will hold dear forever. So my friend J picks up her son and his friend after the dance party on Saturday. The boys get in the car and are discussing the party. My friend asks the boys about the girls...who looked pretty, etc. The boys name off some names and then my friend's son (who I have known since he was 3) says...oh, I love this..."but the prettiest girl there was Mrs. D.!"...I cried...I cried in the middle of bootcamp when she told me...I'm crying now...for a 12 year old boy to declare me the belle of the ball is just the bomb...

So now my resolve is even stronger to get my teaching certification...I love teaching middle school kids and if one or two of them listens to me, well, that is all I need...

I don't "teach" them now, per se, but I do chaperone a lot and work with the 8th graders (kid #1 and Kid #2 are 8th graders) so I guess I do have some influence with them.

It's subtle, but we all influence children more than we know.

We influence each other a lot too...

Today Dimples started a bootcamp for me and my mommy friends...I'm doing my level best to get all of my friends to join us. It is a fun way to work out and get in shape.

Dimples has left his mark on me...he's changed my body, my fitness, my diet...all for the good...

The kids I teach have left a mark on me...I remember their courage when they audition, their talent when they perform, their arms around me when they hug me, and I remember their tears I dry when they come to me with an issue.

GOTT and TTG have left their mark on me...I've learned so much from them that it would take a weeks worth of blogs to do it...

Precious and Adorable History Teacher has left his mark on me...if not for that trip up the stairs with him when I couldn't catch my breath, I might not have had my "ah-ha!" moment...

My friends have left their mark on me...with their love!

Sometimes the people that leave their marks on you are Very Important People...they are the ones in your real life...those close to you...friends, loved ones...

And sometimes it is someone like Dr. King who causes us to examine our hearts and leaves his mark on the world.

Inspiration Song: "You Will Leave a Mark" by A Silent Film

Bye Darlings...make your mark and leave it...