THE DIFFERENCE ONE CAN MAKE

The entire premise of my blog is to remind people that each one of us matters. That each one of us has the power to make a difference.  This blog is usually reserved for my more spiritual side, not my working girl side.  But this story is too big, too cool to not let it be here.  It belongs here.  

The past few weeks I have seen something amazing come together all because of the work of one person.  

I love my job.  I love that I work with awesome teachers and staff who continually amaze me with their efforts, their compassion and their hard work.  I love the kids I work with. They are funny, smart, caring people.  During the past month of the Colorado floods I have seen story after story of hard work, kindness and giving.   This story is one of those that make you smile, choke back a tear or two, and make you stand a little taller for being a little part of it all.  

A few weeks ago, Alex, a junior  at Silver Creek High School came to see me.  He wanted to do something to help people who had been affected by the flooding.  He told me he wanted to get VANS to donate shoes, hoodies, t-shirts and hats to flood victims.  These kids, he said, needed to have some cool stuff, not just generic t-shirts from Walmart, or someone's leftover shoes.  He had a fire in his belly and I loved seeing that.  

This young man is no longer part of my leadership program.  He is a very talented musician, part of our school's incredible Drumline, marching band and very active in many music classes at SCHS.  He felt his schedule could not allow him to stay in SCLA.  I get that.  Sometimes there is just not enough hours in the day to do all we want to do.  I am proud of kids who sort out their priorities and figure out how they are going to be as successful as they can in high school.  Even if I lose them out of my program I am still a huge advocate for them. I was thrilled that he came to talk to me and asked me to assist him how I could with his idea.   

So here we go, a high school kid that loves music, likes wearing VANS stuff, and wants to help kids affected by the flood.  Alex starts making phone calls, starts sending emails and the cool thing is that VANS says yes.  Alex connects with Shawn Gruenhagen, the Sales Rep for Vans in Colorado.  He tells Alex VANS loves this idea, and they would love to come to Longmont and give some stuff away. 

It took us a little bit of time to sort out a location, date and time.  Alex went all over Longmont and Lyons talking to leaders in the community, juggling school and band competitions. Alex got the folks at LifeBridge Church to offer their parking lot to host the event.   Alex kept pushing when others might have quit when things didn't go quite the way he would have liked it.  He stayed positive, and stayed focused.  He was going to get cool VANS stuff to the people who lost a lot, no matter what it took.   

So the day arrives....Of course, it snows the morning of the giveaway. 

This event would be held in a parking lot.... outdoors.  ugh..

But the sun came out, like it does in Colorado. The snow melts by lunchtime, like it does in Colorado. Shawn pulls up with a trailer full of boxes.  We show up with two classes of SCLA students.  Tents go up, a trailer is unloaded and boxes are unloaded and sorted.  

Shawn was amazed that we had a crew of 60 students arrive.  We had 12 parents drive to get us there.  Our teachers juggled their class plans to make sure our leadership students would be there to help, and to give our students another real life experience making a difference in the community, and not just talking about it in the classroom.  Another very cool part of what we do in SCLA. 

Vans had donated thousands and thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.  

I was worried that not enough people would come.   I was not sure that the word got to all the right people.  There was soooo much stuff.  

Alex was organizing everything and everyone.  He was awesome.  

The event was scheduled from 4-6pm.  At 3pm people started lining up.  More volunteers came to help.  The head secretary from Silver Creek, a flood victim herself, came to help.  

 Girls from a rival high school's basketball team came to volunteer.  None of that stuff mattered, it was all about helping the people in our community.  That community, knows no school colors, or team mascots.   

We are Longmont strong. 

 We are Lyons strong. 

We are Frederick strong. 

We are Jamestown strong.  

We are Boulder strong.  

We are COLORADO STRONG. 

Mormon Missionaries came to volunteer. 

By the time 4pm rolled around the line was long and people were waiting to pick out some great items all for free from VANS.  Shawn welcomed everyone and let them know how the distribution would  work.  People would all get to take five or six items each.  

Hundreds of people came.  Hundreds of people to thousands of items home for free.  Some people, after standing in line for a really long time, wanted to meet Alex.  They wanted to give him a hug.  

He looked at his mom and said, "I hate hugs!"  

She laughed and said, "Lots of people here want to give you one."  

Alex disappeared back into the tent to get back to work.  Back to help people find the shirt they wanted, get a hoodie or choose a backpack.  He didn't need to be in front, in charge and taking credit.  He was in the trenches, working.  

Leading by example.  

At 6pm the last few people got to take a few more shirts.  The backpacks, the shoes, the hoodies were gone.  Everything was gone.  The small group of people wrapped up by cleaning it all up.  

There was the unlikely group of people, who came together because of one young man who wanted to do something cool for flood victims.  

He wanted people who had lost so much to know we were still thinking of them.  

To all the kids at Lyons High School who are still going to school in an old building in Longmont, Alex is still thinking of you.  

 To the people who are still sleeping on their grandma's couch, Alex is still thinking of you. 

To those of you who are living in a hotel room, Alex is still thinking of you. 

And to those of you who are wondering how you are going to rebuild your lives because your houses are completely gone, Alex is still thinking of you. 

And because of Alex, the rest of us are still thinking of you too.  

Just think, a kid who loves playing the drums in Longmont, Colorado decided to do something to help others.  He reached out to those who could help him make his dream come true.  He found an awesome company that wasn't afraid to  say  "Yes" to a great idea. 

 He has incredible parents who didn't tell him it was too big, or too hard or would take too much time.  I am glad he reached out to me because I like to say "yes" as much as I can too.  

Volunteers from all around the community joined in.  

If this is not a wonderful example of the ability of ONE RANDOM PERSON to make a difference, I don't know what is.  

So, dream big.  Don't be afraid to try. 

You may have plenty of people who will say no, but there is someone who will say yes. 

Because we all can make a difference, one random person at a time. 

For more pictures and info check out #VansFloodRelief on Twitter and Instagram 

2013 Fasten your seatbelts!

It really was only a little bit ago that I was writing about 2012 knocking at the door. 

 How did it fly by so quickly??  

I have given up on writing resolutions, mostly because every year I write loose 20 lbs, live on a budget, have sparkling clean cabinets and closets, put scrapbooks together, cook more often and be a better person...... so, really, do I need to say those again??? 

Today on facebook I saw a picture and a quote from President Monson from Mormon.org.   I wanted to share it here.

“Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Decisions Determine Destiny.”

                                                                                              Thomas S. Monson

"Many people agree that the key to successful change is to set realistic goals and recognize achievement and progress when it is being made, no matter how small or insignificant it may appear to be."


So this year, I am not going to measure life by the yard.  The scoreboard is unplugged.  The comparison chart  in my brain that I use when I see one of my amazingly talented friends do something I can not do and I suddenly feel like a failure is disconnected.   I am going to use the mirror as my measure and I am going to listen to the spirit to guide me to do what the Lord needs me to do......an inch at a time.   Two events this past year taught me the lesson of an inch at a time.  

Hiking to La Fortuna waterfall in Costa Rica.  

La Fortuna is a beautiful waterfall in the Costa Rican Jungle.  It is amazing.  The only issue with La Fortuna, is..... the stairs.   I am not sure how many stairs there really are.  Some say 400.  Some say 500.  Some say 900.  One guide to the area just lists  it as a "slippery and precipitous trail." 

It is a hike and it is "slippery and precipitous"  (in case you were wondering what that word meant...)

pre·cip·i·tous  

/priˈsipətəs/

Adjective Dangerously high or steep. (of a change for the worse) Sudden and dramatic. Dead on definition.....BTW...... While you are headed down, you keep seeing the waterfall in the distance, so it looks awesome, and you are excited.... but there is this nagging feeling in your gut that what comes down must go up... and unless there is a hot air balloon, or elevator at the bottom of this baby, you are walking it back up...      This was my second trip to La Fortuna, so I knew what to expect.  It had nearly killed me the summer before.  Part of me wanted to skip it.   I had seen it before.  I could just relax and enjoy the quiet of the jungle, and let the group go down.... but I knew better.  I knew 50 was lurking around the corner, and I needed to hike those stairs at La Fortuna again.  So I did.  One step at a time.  And it was amazing.  I wouldn't have missed it for the world..... and I made it back up those slippery and precipitous stairs... all 400, 500 or however-many-hundered of them there are.... One step at a time....

Then, this summer I climbed the GREAT WALL OF CHINA.   

My son Travis and I on the Great Wall

I was on the trip with an amazing co-worker, Lauren, and her husband, Adam.  We decided to head to the "harder" side of the wall as it was less crowded, and we were sure the views would be great.   Most of our students took off to see how fast they could do the wall, so the three of us ventured off up the wall.  At first, it was like everything we did in China.  We would slap each other and jokingly say, "Hey! We are in CHINA!"   The hike up the wall became harder and harder and steeper and steeper.  My Colorado body was dripping in humidity sweat.  

 Lauren and Adam would pause for me to catch my breath.  At times, I was tempted to just turn around.   After all,   I was in China.  I was on the Great Wall.  It was amazing and I had seen it.  I could go back down and get a cold Orange Fanta and wait for the rest of the gang.  But Lauren reminded me that I really wanted to get to the top.  We wanted to go all the way up!!!  We could do it, one step at a time, and we could stop anytime we wanted to. ( Now, my young friend Lauren had no trouble whipping up the wall, she was just being kind to her older friend....)  

Then she said reminded me I was days away from turning 50.  How cool to remember that the year I turned 50 I climbed the great wall of China.  We did it.  We hoofed it up the wall.  I marveled at the scenery.  I marveled at the architecture.  I thought of those who lost their lives building that wall.  I thought of those it defended in times of war.   I was climbing history, and I had no idea if I would stand on that ground again in my life.  I was going to the top.    


One Step at a Time.... 

Now I was grateful to have my friend Lauren there to poke me and prod me to remind me that I really did want to go all the way to the top.  We all need friends to cheer us on when times get tough or when we feel we can't do it.    Hopefully we all remember that we have a friend who never leaves us, as hard as the road may get, as difficult as the challenge may be, our Savior, Jesus Christ is always beside us.  He cheers us on and knows the deep potential for excellence that is within all of us.  He knows how hard the road is because he walked it himself.  He knows how to succor us.  

So this year..........

• I may not loose 20 lbs....  (although I really am going to try!) 
• I may not really live on a budget... (although I married a financial analyst...so that will help!) 
• I may not have sparkling clean cabinets and closets..... (although today I did organize my sock drawer!) 
• I may not do scrapbooks..... ( but I made my son a great memory book of our trip to China for Christmas!) 
• I may not cook more often....(although I made a mean pulled pork today in the crock pot!)

• I may not become a better person.......(actually, the chances of me becoming better are in my favor.....as long as I try....a little bit... every day.....) 

 You see, because Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Decisions Determine Destiny..So let's all make 2013 a year of inches.  Because we all make a difference.....one random woman at a time!