Out of the Mouths of Babes…

Recently, one of my daughters asked me why I’ve been traveling. I rarely left our home during their little sister Joey’s lifetime. Naturally, this change has taken some getting used to for my family.

Thinking this was where she was coming from, I started explaining that traveling was an important part of my job at Safe and Sound…I travel to talk to people and work with experts and professionals to make schools safer. I reassured her that our family still comes first.

I was headed down the wrong cul-de-sac, though…

“It can’t be a job, Mommy. You’re not getting paid any money.”

I just about spat out my coffee.

“Well,” I stalled, “not all jobs pay in money, Sweetheart. Nobody pays me for doing the laundry, cooking, or grocery shopping, right? It’s just part of taking care of our family. The payoff is a happy, healthy, well-fed family.”

I paused to study her face and see how I was doing. I had her attention…

“Safe and Sound is like a home, a gathering place for members of a bigger family. People who visit our site, or invite us to their community, or help us learn and teach others, are working for the same payoff: safer schools.”

“Well, who’s in this family?”

Detecting a little jealousy, I said, “Well, you are, of course! You want schools to be safe, happy places, right? That’s why you work on safety all the time at school.”

“Well, yeah. But who else is in this family?”

Fair enough…

“Teachers, Counselors, Principals, Firefighters, Police, Moms, Dads, Students, safety experts–anybody who wants to make schools safer,” I answered.

“Like the Colonel?”

“Huh? Oh, you mean Col. Grossman?!” Determined to keep a straight face and NOT laugh out loud, I realized she meant Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, who I had just met at his Lynchburg, VA seminar.

“Yes, he’s one of the people working hard on making schools safer. Do you know who else was there? A whole lot of students. They were all college students at Liberty University who wanted to learn too. In fact, they ran the whole day and got “The Colonel” there!”

“And they’re all in the family?”

“Yep. All of ‘em.”

-MG

I’ll post more soon on my travels and the inspiring folks I have been meeting and learning from!

#family #improvingschoolsafety #support