Who makes you tick?

The end of an era has come to my household. Both of my kids are now finished with elementary school. When we pulled up to the front doors of the historic Glendale Elementary  7 years ago, we had no idea how good she would be to us. The teachers, the staff, the principals, and even the custodial staff were and are amazing. My sons have flourished in an amazing way because of those people. 

Over the last 7 years I have come to appreciate each and every member of the Glendale staff from the teachers who poured their lives into my children to the office staff who greeted them each morning. As we ended our elementary school parenting careers on Monday, I began to reflect on the ins and outs of an organization such as an elementary school. Here's a question that I pondered: How is it that hundreds of students and dozens of staff members can come together everyday for 5 days a week for over 9 months without the whole building collapsing in on itself? 
 
Answer: Allow me to introduce two of my favorite people in all of Glendale Elementary: Kevin (on the left) and Don (on the right). Kevin works as head custodian during the day shift and Don works the night custodian shift. While each and every person within an elementary contributes to the whole, Kevin and Don are what make it tick. Set it up, tear it down, clean it up, sweep it up, get it out, put it away, locate it, throw it away, order it, send it back and do it all over again tomorrow. Without Kevin and Don, my kid's elementary school would struggle to survive. 


All of this got me thinking about something else as well: Who is it that makes you tick? Who's your behind the scenes person? Who takes care of all of your details so that you can get on with the fun stuff? Philippians 2:4 says, "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." I think sometimes we forget to appreciate the helpers who surround us? Sometimes we become so consumed with our own needs and desires that these important people go unnoticed and more importantly, unthanked.  Look up, look around, find these people and say, "Thanks".

"Thanks Kevin."
"Thanks Don."

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