Sometimes inspiration is right next to you!

Inspiration is not hard to find in a school.  I was inspired daily as I peered out from the Janitor's closet.  Teachers, students, and staff constantly amazed and inspired me in ways that were subtle but always powerful. Inspiration can always be found if you take the time to look for it.  But, sometimes, you find it right next to you.

Her name was Dawn and while I was the head custodian at my school she was the night shift custodian.  For those of you who are not familiar with the intricacies of the custodian world this is how it works: The head custodian looks after the school during the day but the night shift custodian is the one who makes sure the school gets cleaned at night.  Basically, Dawn did the work and I made sure she had what she needed to do the work. For two years we worked side by side, day after day.  To describe what she was like would take three words... she inspired me.

I was blessed to work in a school where the staff appreciated the custodians.  I don't know if that's true in all schools but it was true in mine.  I think most of the time the hard work of school custodians gets taken for granted.  Staff and students leave a school that has been ravished by the events of the day and return each morning to a clean school that is ready for another beating.  Everyday the same thing, dirty, clean, dirty, clean.  Like clock work the school magically rejuvenates itself each night.  Except it isn't magic, it's hard work, and in our school the magician was Dawn. Her hard work each and every night was enough to inspire any one, but that wasn't the only thing that inspired me about Dawn.  It wasn't just her work ethic, what inspired me the most about her was her life ethic.

Everyone in our school loved Dawn.  She was personable, optimistic, funny, and kind.  But what some, if not most, people didn't know about her was that life was hard for her.  She had lost her husband, which was the love of her life, to a heart attack and she was raising her daughter on her own.  She was struggling to be both provider and parent, employee and friend.  She worked two jobs to make ends meet, always making sure that the energy she put into her first hour of work was the same she put into her last hour.  Life was hard for Dawn but you couldn't tell.  Everyday she came to work with her smile and her faith.

I learned many things about life from her during our two years together.  I learned that, sometimes, struggles in life can be a blessing. I learned that a person should work hard at their job even if that hard work, sometimes, goes unnoticed.  I learned that love is the most important thing in life even if, sometimes, one of those loves are no longer with you.  I learned that you can inspire without words and you can show compassion and kindness without having to be rewarded for it. Dawn worked for me but she was the boss and she gave me an example of what true inspiration looks like. For the two years I worked at Gateway Elementary in Woodland Park, CO I got the privilege of being inspired each and every day by the person who cleaned the school each and every night.

I want to encourage each of you to seek out inspiration in your life.  Look for it with a passion.  Be inspired by the little things you encounter every day.  Most of the time you will find it in the ordinary things.  And, sometimes, if your are lucky, you will find it right next to you.

See ya next time!