Week 7 MKMMA—– Give more—-Get more

It is Sunday the 16th…I spent yesterday afternoon writing this weeks post and I just managed to delete the whole thing and for the life of me, find a way to retrieve it….This week has been very busy with work (I’m Grateful!) and Friday nights the last 2+ months have been filled with working with my son’s high school football team. Now that’s over and I’m looking forward to having that time to keep current on my blog. Speaking of high school football and my son….

Several times over the past 10 years (that’s how long my son has been a high school math teacher and coach) I have watched my son (Joe) with deep admiration for the person he has become. His career is a lifestyle, not just a job. The amount of time, energy and emotions that he gives to his students and student athletes is awe inspiring. His life is truly a representation of “Give more, Get More.” He is only 32 years old, but he is known widely through out the community. He has legions of students who hated math until they took his classes. He is wise, selfless, and passionate. He has an enormous open heart and everyone knows it. He loves completely and he jumps into his relationships head first….This past spring when the school year ended, I asked him if he was excited to be done with school and now looking forward with enthusiasm to the next 2 and half months off. Most teachers I know look forward to the summers off more than the kids! But upon asking Joe about his feelings on this, he looked at me and said, “You know dad, you’d think that’s how I’d feel, but I don’t. I had several kids this year that have had a profound effect on me. I already miss them really bad.” He started to get emotional upon stating this. I said I thought he was experiencing a sense of loss and melancholy. He agreed. At that moment, I was profoundly affected by Joe and the realization that he was changing lives and in turn, lives were changing him. Even though he was feeling a sense of loss and more than a bit of sorrow, he was reaping the fruits of his commitment to his students. They appreciated his love, and sacrifice on their behalf and gave him gifts and heart felt letters of thanks. He was so blessed by their love. He told me he couldn’t read the notes and letters except by himself. He doesn’t weep openly, but I could tell he was close to getting emotional as he was telling me how he felt. You can bet I had some tears for him. It was an unexpected moment between the two of us and as a parent it couldn’t have been more gratifying or profound. Every goal that a dad or parent has in mind when that baby arrives was realized in that simple but poignant 5 minute conversation—The amount of love, pride and awe, that I felt for my son at that moment was overwhelming…I was reaping what my wife and I had sown…..Give more, Get back WAY more than we ever thought possible. We planted a seed, and we were given a beautiful forest. Joe’s life is an example of a life well lived. He has taken this gift of life and made the most of it. The greatest compliment that I can give to him is, he makes me want to be a better man, a man like him.