There is something incredibly special about giving a gift. Every husband remembers the day and way that he bent the knee and offered a golden gift in proposal to his wife. Every child prepares a hand made gift filled with love for a teary eyed mom on mothers day. Whether big or small the act of giving is the gift.
Today I woke up at 4AM to load 12 lawn signs into my car and followed a preprogrammed route through my neighborhood to the houses of a dozen kids who tried out for All-Star Softball and Baseball in my community. These kids worked hard in an impressively competitive field of youth athletes, and these were the ones selected. To be clear, I only had 12 of about 120 signs delegated to me, so I know there were at least 10 of us volunteers trolling through the streets before the break of dawn this morning.
As each of these kids went to bed last night, they hoped that when they woke, there would be a lawn sign in front of their home, shouting to all who would wander by: THE KID IN THIS HOUSE IS AN ALL-STAR! In fact the sign says: North Natomas Little League All Star, and then displays the athlete's name. So, it was important to wake up early enough to get the signs planted before the houses were a stir.
I have been an educator in this community for 25 years. I have been a dad here for 19 of those years. I don't know why I never left. Habit I guess? My daughter is one of the softball players who's front lawn now proudly houses an All-Star placard. So, my volunteerism was not so much a gift to my community, but a willingness to participate in volunteerism that I know, from first hand experience, brings so much joy to a household.
The gift today was not one I gave, but one I received. As I drove through the streets of a community that I have served for over 2 decades, I was overwhelmed by the deep connection I have with this small little corner of the world. I placed a sign on the lawn of a student who currently attends the school where I serve; I placed a lawn sign in front of a house that belongs to a man I met when we were both brand new teachers in our first year of teaching 25 years ago and we both still serve as educators in this community today; I placed a sign in front of a house that belongs to a former student, a young man that I helped pour into while he was in school, and his child is now growing up and thriving in this community.
I spent about an hour this morning planting signs in 12 yards around my neighborhood, and minus the houses with highly sensitive ring doorbells, no one will ever know who placed those signs there: but I will know. I will know that those houses are celebrating something special this morning and I got to be a tiny part of it...and that is the gift of being an educator in one place for 25 years: literally thousands of successes will be celebrated across a generation and I will have been a tiny part of each one of them.
