Gratitude, Love, and Looking Out for One Another

It is very early on a Thursday morning as I write this. Jet lag, emotion, and life have a way of waking you before the sun.


I want to say thank you.

The messages, calls, notes, and quiet gestures of support over the past few days have meant more than I can possibly express. When life tilts suddenly, you find out very quickly how many people are standing nearby, ready to steady you. I have felt that steadiness.

Kristin was an extraordinary woman.

We met in college as two kids who thought we had things figured out. We grew up together over nearly 30 years, married almost 28 of them. Most of the best parts of me were sharpened, softened, strengthened, or outright created because of her. She had high standards, deep empathy, a subtle sense of humor, and a fierce love for her family.

She was also far more private than I am. And out of love and respect for her, that privacy will remain. Some stories are sacred. Some struggles are not meant for public consumption. What I will say is this: she worked incredibly hard over the years to seek and receive help for internal battles that many people fight quietly. That matters. And it is important for anyone reading this to know you are never alone. There are people who care. There is help. There is no weakness in reaching for it.

The range of emotions in grief is something no one can quite prepare you for. Gratitude and heartbreak can occupy the same breath. Strength and collapse can take turns within the same hour. I’ve learned this week that it’s okay to feel all of it. (And yes, apparently it is also normal to cry in airports. I can now confirm this firsthand.)

Kristin is forever loved by her family. That will not change. Love doesn’t end because a life does.

If there is anything I hope comes from this moment, it’s a renewed commitment for all of us to watch out for one another. Check in. Make the call. Send the text. Sit a little longer. We never fully know what someone is carrying.

Thank you for carrying some of this with me.

Steve

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Competence in K-12 Education: Preparing Students for an Interconnected World

Image
  I read  The World is Flat by  Thomas Friedman sometime in the mid-2000s. While I had an appreciation for different cultures and a vague understanding of the world’s interconnectedness—I didn’t contemplate it much. I recall Friedman’s book stretching my thinking, detailing the rapid changes brought about by technology, global trade, and interconnected economies. Since then, we have witnessed an accelerated “flattening” fueled by advancements in communication and the rise of social media. What involvement should schools play in fostering global competence? Education is about preparing students for the future, which is undeniably global. By fostering global competence in K-12 classrooms, we guide the next generation in meeting the challenges of an interconnected world with confidence, creativity, and compassion.  By embedding global themes into the curriculum, students develop critical thinking skills to analyze issues from multiple viewpoints. Language learning enhan...
Read more

Reframing Organizations: A Personal Journey Through a Timeless Leadership Framework

Image
  I discovered Bolman and Deal's "Reframing Organizations" during my Master of Public Administration program in the early 2000s. At the time, the book was required reading, and I approached it with the typical student mindset—another book to get through for a grade. Little did I know that this framework would become a cornerstone of my leadership approach, particularly as a school leader and, eventually, a district superintendent. I was struck by the clarity and depth of the four-frame model: Structural, Human Resource, Political, and Symbolic. Each frame offered a unique perspective on organizational challenges, and together, they provided a comprehensive toolkit for understanding and managing complex environments. This was particularly eye-opening as I navigated the multifaceted world of educational leadership. In my early years as a school leader, the Structural frame proved invaluable. It helped me design efficient processes and clarify roles and responsibilities with...
Read more

The Paper Advantage: Why Physical Books Outperform Screens for Deep Learning

Image
I recently saw on LinkedIn a repost by Tony Zeikle of Lightspeed of organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant : "We learn more from reading on paper than on screens. 54 studies, 171k people: we process print more deeply than digital content as long as it's informational rather than purely narrative. The paper advantage holds across ages and has grown over time. Long live physical books." This statement resonated with me, as I've always preferred the tactile experience of physical books. This preference might be generational, stemming from my upbringing with printed materials. However, scientific research supports that reading on paper enhances comprehension and retention, especially for informational content. The Science Behind Reading Mediums A 2019 meta-analysis by Virginia Clinton reviewed 33 studies involving 2,799 participants and found that reading from screens hurt reading performance relative to paper, particularly with expository texts. Another me...
Read more