Marianne and Kristy

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and inspired by a blog I follow (simplysincere.com), I decided to take the next four days and send little shout outs to some of the “mom figures” in my life.  I’ll be saving the best (my mom of course!) for last.  She’ll get her shout out on Sunday which is actually Mother’s Day.  Today, my thanks and love go to two women who have been amazing mentors to me over the years.  Their names are Marianne Cox and Kristy Dail. 

 

I met Marianne when I was a sophomore in college.  She came into my life to lead my college Bible Study and very quickly became a spiritual and life mentor.  So here’s to Marianne:

 

Marianne, I don’t know what my life would look like without you.  You are the person who first taught me practical ways to make every decision based on faith.  From you, I think I’ve learned more about the Bible and God than any other single person.  Not only have you helped me learn more the Lord, but you’ve taught me more about life, too.  From you, I learned that cooking chicken in a crockpot is far superior than boiling it, that budgeting comes down to making a spreadsheet and saving receipts, and that the solutions to relationship problems are never as hard to find as I think.  You are the person I call when I’m trying to cut my grocery bill in half, when I want to pick a new paint color, or when Andy and I are having a conflict that requires outside wisdom.

 

You are the sweetest, wisest person I know.  My favorite memories of you will always be those months leading up to my wedding when we went on long walks, and I told you every single thing I feared about becoming a wife and moving to Charlotte.  I will never forget the way you weighed my concerns and assured me that the future would definitely not be as scary as I was imagining – you were so right!  I know your husband, whom I love, will always believe he did our marriage counseling, but I am convinced that I would not be half the wife I am without your influence.  I love you so much, and I’m beyond thankful that God put you in my life.  Happy Mother’s Day! – Shannon

 

Kristy Dail is another “mom” figure who has been a professional and spiritual mentor in my life.  She helped hire me for my first job as an English teacher at Farmville Central.  Here is my shout out to Kristy:

 

Kristy, I will never forget meeting you in Mrs. Galberth’s office when I was about to graduate from graduate school and was interviewing for the job.  Your big smile and energy immediately attracted me, and you are the reason I wanted to work at Farmville Central.  I am the teacher I am today because of you.  You taught me what it looks like to make teaching fun – to cut up and relax (when I can!) and enjoy being in a classroom full of crazy kids.  You taught me not to take my job too seriously, and even though I struggle with that one, when I am trying to get myself out of a funk, you are always the one I think about.  You – with your funny stories about kids fighting or still not understanding subject/verb agreement or asking insane questions – are the person who cheers me up.  You’ve taught me what it looks like to laugh it off, and I know you and Amy will probably never believe this, but I’m getting better and better at finding humor and joy in the craziness of each day.

 

You are also the person who has made it the hardest for me to be away from Greenville.  I thought I’d miss my college or church friends the most, but it turns out my coworkers are the ones I’ve missed the most.  Thank you for being my friend and coach and mentor for five years.  Thank you for pushing me to be a teacher leader and for giving me opportunities to practice those skills.  Thank you for showing me how to love Jesus by loving my students.  Thank you for your encouragement and love and help professionally.  Thank you, also, for being there for me personally and for all the prayers I know you have sent up on my behalf.  My best memory of you will always be the year I came to your room after school in tears because Andy and I had broken up and pleaded with you to let me teach remediation that day, so I wouldn’t have to put on a fake happy face at the staff Christmas party.  You saw how exhausted and worn down I was, and you didn’t ask questions but agreed to let me teach the class that day as a legitimate way to skip the party.  I remember thinking you’d go down to the party after you got your desk organized, but you didn’t.  You stayed.   You pretended, I’m sure now, to work.  Then you jumped in and did a little coteaching before running down to the party at the last minute and bringing back plates of food that we ate after the class.  I don’t remember you pushing me to tell you all the details of my breakup.  I just remember you being there when I needed you most.  For so many reasons, I will be forever thankful I started my teaching career at Farmville Central and with you.  Thank you, my friend, for being who you are.  I sure do love you! Shannon

 

PS - Why do I not have a picture of us together??  You need to come visit so we can fix that :).