Girls,
Today is another big day for us! We had a couple of really cool things happen. Lindley, you are now pulling up and standing in your play pen! Whew! I was worried that wasn’t ever going to happen. Avaleigh, we started your potty training today. In baseball terms, we are 0-4 so far, but we will get there.
Memorial Day is an important day in our nation. A lot of people don’t know, but there is a big difference between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. Veteran’s Day is about honoring those who are or have been in the military. Memorial Day die is about honoring soldiers who didn’t come home…those who paid a huge sacrifice in the name of our country. That sacrifice was death.
So there are two themes to this:
- Give to something bigger than yourself…
- Learn to sacrifice for others
Give to something bigger than yourself
I know you won’t understand this for many, many years. There is a lot of things you won’t understand for many years. I came back to Marked Tree to give back to our community. I was born and raised here. People in this town, black and white, helped raise me and I couldn’t think of a better place to come give back. I know, I know…people are going to say that it is the job of an educator to do the things I did. Not true. I could have gone to work and come home at 3:30 every day. I wanted to be better and I wanted to do bigger. Ultimately, by trying to give back, I ended up being the principal.
Everyday, I feel like the job is bigger than me.
One day you are going to grow up and try to do something bigger than you and you are going to feel so inadequate. That’s ok. The people you admire the most often feel inadequate.
You are inadequate when you try to do things that are bigger than you. That’s ok. Those are the times you fight the hardest and pray the most.
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anyone.”- Maya Angelou
Learn to sacrifice for other
My dear Avaleigh…at the age of two years, ten months you stink at sharing! S.T.I.N.K. It is almost funny. You will not play with something for two month and when your sister picks it up, you want it right away! That’s ok…you are learning.
Some people confuse sharing as sacrificing.
When you sacrifice, you don’t get something or a favor in return. You lose something. By losing something, you become bigger and better than what you were in the world’s eyes. Over time, those small sacrifices add up.
Give money to charity. Spend time doing something that will make the world better instead of hanging out with friends. Help someone buy some clothes because they need it. Give one of your Christmas gifts to a needy person.
Don’t confuse good manners and sacrificing. Holding up the door for someone isn’t sacrificing, it is good manner. When you sacrifice, you give something that is valued.
Time, patience, love, money….
There are so many examples. But you need to learn what sacrifice is and what it looks like.
The sooner you do and the more you do of it…you will become a better person.
Dad of Girls 