Lucky seven must have a lucky charm for it to mean anything, right?
Well, lucky for me, I’ve got mine.
For Day 7 (and yes, we’ve got just one week left to go!), I wanted to recognize a friend of mine. Yeah, I’ve known her a long time.
People say we look alike, and I guess in some ways we’re a lot alike, too. It’s interesting, because while she definitely has a diplomacy to her, I’m not so sure I’d call her diplomatic. And while she doesn’t think she’s especially litigious, I still wouldn’t pick a fight with her.
What I can tell you, though, is that she has always been a lucky charm for me, someone who always reminded me that while life can knock you down once or twice, that’s no excuse for not staying in the ring.
The luck part of all that is that she has been my lucky charm for more years than I care to mention. It has been a lot of years, a lifetime really.
Yeah, there have been times when she has been a sort of reliable hybrid, sister, girlfriend and confidant, all wrapped up into one. And given her youthful appearance – yes, that includes today – you’d never figure her for what she is, would you?
Yep, that pretty lady pictured here (along with a younger version of some guy you might know), in addition to being sister, girlfriend and confidant is none other than my mom.
The thing you have to know about Carolyn M. Fischer (nee Butta) is that while she’s rarely wrong (hence the diplomacy sans a diplomatic nature comment!), she certainly knows how to teach others how to eventually arrive at the right answer.
As an educator for the better part of 30 years, she has often acted as the human compass for many, the lucky charm – not just for me – but for so many others. Those who know her best will tell you that she was really born to be a teacher.
In fact, that’s probably why her retirement from teaching (her first retirement, I mean) lasted less than a year. And again, that meant a lot more good luck for a lot of different people. Lucky or not, I figured out a long time ago that she was doing what she was meant to do. And the difference she has made for people – in and out of the classroom – can’t be measured in any precise terms.
Simply put, she has just helped too many different people, too many times, in too many ways for us to try to put any limits on it.
Talk about luck, huh?
No, not hers. The good luck in this belongs to all of us.
Love you, Mom.
JFish