Doing What You Said You Would
In this strangest of times in all our lives, I find it important to keep the routines and practices that I had in my previous life—the era known as BC, Before COVID. For me, this means getting outside daily, exercising some, and eating well. It means reaching out to friends and writing.
It is difficult to make plans, or feel like any forward thinking you do is worthwhile. Why put effort into tomorrow when we know that the situation will change and obliterate any sense of order we may have created? I think this kind of fatalistic thinking is very easy to slip into these days, so I was incredibly gratified to see a group of people showing that they are indeed focused on tomorrow.
This group I observed is the Board of Trustees for the Putnam City Schools Foundation. Last Saturday, they gave up an entire morning to come in person and by Zoom to our annual board retreat. Though the technology and social distancing presented challenges, the work of planning for tomorrow took place. We reviewed our accomplishments of the past year, heard from school board President Cindy Gibbs, and overviewed our strategic plan. We shared laughs and food, and thought about the vision we have for Putnam City Schools.
These people are all volunteers, as you likely know. Having been a board volunteer for other nonprofits, I know how easy it is to find other things to do on a Saturday. I know how challenging it is to devote time to service when you have other things pressing. Yet I was so grateful that these people came and worked, offering their opinions and appreciation. They did this because they said they would. They are people of integrity who truly believe in the mission of the Putnam City Schools Foundation—to enhance and enrich the educational opportunities of children in Putnam City Schools.
That focus on tomorrow is really a manifestation of hope, isn’t it? If you didn’t think things would be better, then you wouldn’t waste energy trying to plan for it, would you? Putnam City is lucky to have so many people in its midst who have that hope and are working daily to manifest a better future for all our students.
posted by Jennifer Seal
August 6, 2020