One of the things you will find as you get older is that the days seem
to go by much faster each year. And every year you can look back and see
that you have encountered experiences which will affect you for the rest of your life.
Whether you are a student, a teacher, a parent, a support worker at the school,
an administrator, a Board member, or any other person who has been involved in
any way with the school environment this past year, you have been touched in
some significant manner.
This is because of the fact that school life is about human interaction - it
is about people working with each other - dreaming with each - helping each
other achieve goals.
Whenever you have a few moments to spare, take the opportunity to sit back and do something
you quite possibly have been putting off for a long time.
Can You Think of Someone Who Has Done Something Special For You This Year? In
past years?
Can you think of someone who has done something for you this past school
year, or even longer ago, that you haven’t really and truly thanked? What
about the person who helped you find your way to class the first day of school?
What about the teacher who inspired you? What about the teacher who always
stayed after school? What about the parent who is always there for you with advice and
recommendations?
Moments Pass By Too Quickly
We live in such a fast-paced world that special moments often speed by
without giving us time to express our real gratitude and appreciation to caring
people who have touched our life. The moment passes and we move on to the next
thing right away. The act of kindness meant a lot to us at the time, but as time
moves on it seems less and less significant, especially to the person who showed
us the kindness.
Think About How You Felt The Last Time Someone Thanked You For
Something You Did or Said
Just think of the last time that someone thanked you for doing them a small
favour. Think about how it made you feel to have someone send you a little note,
or phone you, or email you, or give you a special hug and a smile to show their
appreciation. Think about how it made you feel when this expression of gratitude
came some time after the event. It often means a lot more to receive a thank you
after the fact because it shows that the person still thinks about what you did
even after the passing of time. Now that you know how good it made you feel to
receive a belated "thank you", remember that everyone else feels the
same way.
You Have No Idea How Much Your Little Note Will Mean
This fact was driven home to me recently when I came across the following
story:
A man by the name of William Stidger taught at Boston University. He once
reflected upon the great number of un-thanked people in his life. These were
people who had helped nurture him, inspire him or who cared enough about him to
leave a lasting impression. Once of these people was a school teacher he’d not
heard of in many years. But he remembered that she had gone out of her way to
put a love of verse in him, and Will had loved poetry all his life. He wrote a
letter of thanks to her. The reply he received, written in the feeble scrawl of
the aged, began "My Dear Willie:" He was delighted. Now over 50, bald
and a professor, he didn’t think there was a person left in the world who
would call him "Willie". Here is that letter:
"My Dear Willie,
I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living
alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and, like the rest of
autumn, lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I taught school
for 50 years and yours is the first note of appreciation I ever received. It
came on a blue-cold morning and it cheered me as nothing has in many
years."
Not prone to cry easily, William Stidger wept over that note. She was one of
the great un-thanked people from Will’s past.
We All Have Special People In Our Life Who Remain
Un-Thanked
We all have people like Will’s school teacher in our life. The teacher who
made a difference. The coach we will never forget. The nurse who cared for us
after the accident. The best friend we haven’t seen for years. We all remember
people who shaped our lives in various ways - some small and some big - but each
had an impact on who we are today. After Will Stidger received the reply from
his school teacher, he realized that he could no longer leave people un-thanked.
He also realized that by thanking these people and showing them that he really
did care about what they had done, he in turn may be doing something very
significant for them.
It’s Never Too Late To Say Thank You - Do It
Now!
So as you are sitting around relaxing this evening or this weekend, spend some
time thinking about some of the un-thanked people from your past. It may not be
too late to say thank you. You have no idea how much your words will mean.
Make a list and it will help you to realize just how many people have helped
you become the person you are today. And don’t forget the people closest to
you. Parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, teachers -
people you are with every day may not do anything out of the ordinary, but the
sum of all those moments cannot be
replaced.
Until the next time...
