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Dear Reader,
I've always felt my job here on earth is to do the little things, but I must admit that every now and then I ask myself the same question that Scott Wiley ponders in his Honorable Mention column from this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest.
Your column made me think Scott. Thanks for entering and sharing your thoughts with us.
Congratulations!
Have I made a difference? I guess that question comes up when you're at that middle stage of life, as I am. It has come up more frequently for me since I'm between jobs, working as a freelancer. Some days I look back and wonder if I've made much of an impact--on anything or anyone.
I worked in a publishing company for 15 years. But I recognize fewer and fewer people when I visit there. And little of my work is still around. I volunteer and teach a kindergarten class at my church. But not much tangible results are seen in that. I love it each week. But those five-year-olds grow and move beyond my class, and I wonder if I've made much impact.
A couple of weeks ago, I was walking down the hall at my church thinking some of these thoughts. I walked down the stairs. At the bottom, a young man was holding the door. As I walked out I thanked him. He looked at me. Suddenly a smile bloomed across his face.
"Hey," he said. "You were my teacher. My kindergarten teacher."
"Yes, I was," I said. He smiled broadly at me again.
My thoughts shifted as I walked to my car. Each week my kids and I have fun and we learn. We explore and investigate and play. We paint and stack blocks and read. We create memories.
I may not win an award or have a famous name. But I get to spend time with boys and girls. Maybe something we did will bring a smile to the face of an adult one day.
That's a difference to be proud of.
--Scott Wiley
Honorable Mention, 2015 Write a Dear Reader Contest
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
* This month's Penguin Classics book is RAVELSTEIN by Saul Bellow. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin tote bag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA7574&c=CLASSICS
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