We have these "inspirational talks" at my school, once a month, during our faculty meeting where a staff or faculty member shares some inspiration with the rest of us.
This morning, one of my colleagues, Shea, gave an emotional reminder of something I needed to remember. Maybe you too.
She shared with us how growing up, her dad used to do this silly dance with her and her siblings. And she shared how on a trip to the doctor's office, with her dad...she made him do that same silly dance, and even recorded it. She shared that video with us this morning. Staff members oohed and aahed. It was a short video. Maybe eight seconds. It showed a sweet moment between father and daughter. You could hear my colleague laughing in the background. Dad looked really happy.
This may seem pretty insignificant to you.
But. What you don't know is Shea lost her dad in February of this year. He died of a massive heart attack. It was pretty devastating to her. I will never forget, after his funeral, when she returned to school, and I went to visit her, in her office. She gave me the biggest and the longest hug anyone had ever given me. She held on tight for a while because no words could, at that moment, really express the heartache she was feeling, and still continues to feel.
She later shared with me that when her mom died in 2008, it was her wake-up call. She said, "Sadly, it takes losing someone to really get your attention." That tragedy forced her to create lasting memories with her dad, "dragging him all over the place" even to the doctor's office where she recorded that video of him.
It was a sweet message to me. A reminder to not only make those memories happen...but to cherish them too.
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