1. Family comes first. Always.
2. Teaching is truly the best possible profession, and it’s dumb to lose sight of that for a day or even a minute.
3. It’s ok to say things are dumb.
4. Redi-whip is actually kind of delicious, and nothing bad happens when you eat it.
5. Stand up and speak up for what you believe.
6. Walk out of a bad meeting when necessary.
7. Hair can be surprising. David’s often was.
8. Long underwear can be dapper if it’s red, and red looks particularly snazzy under a blue oxford cloth shirt.
9. You can’t be any more sorry than you were the first time you said you were sorry. Apologize and move on.
10. Stay true to your original love story, especially if it's a good one.
11. It’s ok to be romantic.
12. Love your kids deeply and completely, but don’t take them too seriously.
13. Don’t listen to anyone who insists on talking about stuff they don’t know about.
14. Somebody’s got to be the bad guy.
15. Sometimes it’s you.
16. You need a really, really big van. I still don’t know why, but I trust that his was necessary. I can’t ask him now, so I trust.
17. It’s ok to be sarcastic.
18. It’s necessary to be sarcastic when you’re dealing with middle schoolers.
19. One of the most important things a teacher can do for a parent is to tell the truth.
20. Much of what seems ordinary is actually hilarious.
21. No warning. It’s what we knew about death all along, but David’s death has taught me that there truly is no warning, it will not come at a good time, and you will not get a chance to say good bye.
22. When you go, the story of who you were will be taken up by those left behind, so start a good story.
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7 comments:
So grateful Ella had her turn with him.
Great list. Well done. David to a tee. I will spend the coming hours remembering so fondly the many laughs shared with David and the rest of the Book Bridge gang. Exclesior, David! Excelsior!
Rex, I'm glad about that too. He was a force to be reckoned with in that middle school, and I'm delighted Ella had the pleasure.
Michael, thank you so much for your kind words. I am honored that you feel I have captured him, and I admire your determination to spend the day remembering him fondly. Right now I'm still wracked with the loss.
As a good friend of David's from his rugby days. I would say that number 23 would be, "Never be afraid to unleash your passion for a just cause".
Skip
Skip, yes, absolutely. Thanks for your comment, and let me offer you my condolences.
"They say there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord—"Hallelujah"
David was a good and great man.
Paul-William and Beth Burch
"Now I greet you from the other side
Of sorrow and despair
With a love so vast and shattered
It will reach you everywhere"
Leonard Cohen, balm to a troubled soul. Thanks for the reminder.
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