Putting out the chairs

Umm, yea, well... see, if I were going to.. well, Yeah.. that's right..

Geez, Louise.! That is exactly how most of the answers to my interveiw questions went today. I finally got to go and interveiw with the county office concerning the teaching position. And this 6 year veteran of the teaching field is a bit out of practice. YA THINK???

Can you tell that I have stayed home with children for 5 years. I completely forgot to put my big people vocabulary back in. Wow, and wow. I felt like something out of the Twilight Zone in there. And lucky that I wore black because I was sweating profusely. While trying to maintain that professional look.

The Assisstent Superintendent to the God of the Schools kept telling me I was doing fine while she nodded her head in complete exasperation because she was basically having to make up answers for me.

I promise, the last time I was a teacher, my principle just gave me the job... no interviews. And when I became a nurse, it was basically the same thing. Short and sweet. This hurt me.. HURT ME!

I finally said, "I promise I am a good teacher. Really... Please check my references. I am obviously just hidieously lacking in the interveiw department." She chuckled a bit, but she didn't exactly giggle like I would have preferred.

What she did do then was turn back in my file to my references, and though I couldn't really see them, I did lean forward enough to get somewhat of a peek. And sure enough, there they were. My former principal, vice-principal and a subordinate teacher had sent in their recommendations for me. And from all the handwritting that I saw, they wrote a novel. I could tell by the circled adjectives that they wrote some very nice things.

I was touched and was almost brought to tears right there in the room. I have come along in this journey long enough to realize that this was something special that they did for me. They had to take time out of their very busy days, fill out the very long forms, walk out to their mailboxes and send those forms in for me, in hopes that I would get this teaching job that I want.

Not one person, but three. And they all did it. These are three people that I admire. And they did that for me. That is why I do believe in angels on earth who can change your world. I have no idea exactly what was said on those forms, but I do hear the flapping of wings... that I do know.

It reminded me of how people do things all the time for others behind the scene, and it is never even noticed. I have mentioned before how my son plays the guitar. We are working on getting him in where we can. Right now, he has his sights set on playing on the stage with the big band at the church that we are visiting. It is a large stage with a rather large band.

The first day that we went, that is what caught his eye... the guitar player. Well, it is an adult band, but Parker said he would definitely be able to play up there, even at 14. So, I told him I would have to figure out who had to be spoken to, etc. Also, I felt sure we would have to join the church first.

JUST SO HAPPENS, (isn't that always the way), a good friend of mine from high school goes to church there. He had moved to Nashville to do his music thing there. But, just recently has moved back to our home town due to parental illnesses. Now, lo and behold, he is working at this church. Hmmmm.... I called him and told him I needed Parker in with someone who knew what was going on...

Also, saw another friend at this church from school (remember, we've been out 20 years) and this girl is also friends with the Nashville guy. I tell her about Parker and seeing Nashville... She says great...and so on...

Okay, so everyone says great... We go to a few lessons with Terry and then it peters out a bit... So, I am wondering maybe that wasn't the path I thought it would be..

But, then I see them at a ball game, My girl friend and she says... By the way, I e-mailed Parker's name to Danny, our youth minister, he is dynamic and he is incredible with the guitar... that is who Parker needs.

I see Terry a week later who says.. "By the way, I e-mailed Parker's name.... you get the picture..."

There were unseen angels working for my Parker for his future that we didn't even know about. And now Parker is playing his guitar with the band on Sundays. Just like that. The music director is fantastic and will push my 14 year old in the direction with the contacts he needs.
I was floored.

That leads me to one story that I am not sure I can make it through. We have friends that we grew up with, Gary and Stacy. College sweethearts. 3 kiddos. Had it all. Affluent neighborhood.
Everybody want to be them. Then one morning...it's all done... Stacy never made it to her destination....she was killed on the way. 36 years old. Yeah, that changed that world forever....

What do you do? What can you do? People were scrambling EVERYWHERE... Their house was packed. More food than you could even begin to eat. More errands being run for no reason because no one knew what they could do.... More e-mails being sent to just say something... Just anything....

But, the night before Stacy's funeral, life went on in the church. The kids had basketball practice like they usually do. This would be the same site as the funeral. So about half way through the practic, a husband and a wife that were good friends of Stacy's were there at the church putting out the chairs for the funeral. They were doing this all by themselves. There were to be over 1000 people there. And David and Ashleigh were there in their own quiet way doing this enormous task at 9pm on a Monday night, even though they had 3 children of their own. They found a way to have someone watch their children while they made sure that those chairs were placed properly for their friends funeral.

They spoke not a word while they did it. All I could do was sit in the back and weep while I watched them. For, it took me back to a time when I remembered feeling very, very alone. It was when my father died. I had so many times that I saw the people there, but I had no idea what those faces meant. And by watching David and Ashleigh put out the chairs, I now knew.

Everyone who came to me for my father had done something to be there. They had left work, or they had cooked. Or they had arranged babysitting. Or they had cried all the way. Or they had ordered flowers.

Or, maybe, just maybe, they had set out the chairs...