A neat thing happened today...

It was funny - out of the blue, people were calling to ask about the move & such... then all of a sudden Dave hands me the phone - I looked at him & said who is it? He shrugged his shoulders & I answered Hi... the other voice on the phone said "You probably don't remember me.. this is Jessica Isaacson!" All of a sudden flashing through my mind I thought Jessica (gal I babysit for)... then Isaacson... Oh, my goodness!!! NO!!! I can't believe it!
7 years ago I started coaching the Dance team at our High School... man was that a interesting bunch of gals!! One from every walk of life!! I could tell right away it would be a tough group as things in the past year hadn't been very easy for the team. We had a long way to go!! I realized there were some who knew it all, some who could care less, some who really wanted to try, then there was a good handful of those.. you just didn't know - many would tell me that they just wouldn't make it. Their families were messed up, their grades were awful & they didn't qualify to try, they did drugs or drank, etc... but this group of gals, almost seemed to say to me, don't give up!!
Well, many of them are interesting stories, a few really sad ones, but for the most of it they are good ones! Let me tell you a bit about this one... Jessica. She came to me my 2nd year coaching & had moved here from out of town to live with her Dad. She was a mess. She longed for her mom, but didn't have much of a relationship on that end. She needed friends but had a hard, tough shell & didn't let many in. She came to our High School with I think a -.25 GPA, I believe she was involved in many things most girls her age haven't experienced yet nor think about... So, we had a talk & she really wanted to dance for me. She made me some promises, we set some goals to get her grades up to where she could even participate & she promised she would follow the rules, behavior, etc... I gave her a chance!!
She was one of my MOST flexible dancers in every way! She was a hard worker, she had talent - but didn't know it yet. She spoke her mind & her mouth could talk a storm if she was upset.... but she was very respectful of me & did all that she could to fulfill her end of the bargain. I had to be pretty tough with her & there were many times she learned hard lessons from mistakes!! But - that girl continued to make me proud of her!!! By her 1st semester of school that year she was pulling a 3.5 GPA or possibly a little higher... she tried so hard!! (That is one thing I didn't think she was going to be able to do... cause who gets a -GPA?... I just learned that she was very smart... but had no reason to try before!)
Over the past 5 years I have thought on & off about her (& the other girls I lost contact with) & wondered what had happened to her. (Many of the girls I have found the past couple months on Myspace & facebook & it has been fun to reconnect with them.)
I knew Jessica had left the area, but nobody seemed to have seen her since graduation - I had hoped she was o.k.! I hoped that someday I would run into her dad, so I could ask about her, but I haven't even seen him. So I was surprised to hear he is still in the area.
Well, to jump to my phone call - she was calling to tell me she was coming to town this weekend for her dad's wedding & she wanted to come see me. She wanted to tell me that she was starting to help teach dance classes at her Daughter's dance studio & wondered if I still had any video clips from her dancing days!! (Cause I recorded everything they did!) Yes, yes!!
So she went on to tell me about her life & OH MY GOODNESS!!! She has been married 5 years now to a guy that sounds so wonderful & has 2 little girls. She is a stay at home mom & is loving her life!! She told me how she was so excited when she called 411 & heard my address was the same street she remembered (Couldn't had been better timing - since we had finalized the sell of our house the hour prior to her call!) She couldn't remember my number... until it started saying it - then she told me of how she remembered me always telling her my number in case she got in a bind/trouble & needed a ride, etc... so she could call me! (I wondered if she/they ever listened!)

I wanted to cry, but I was so happy she was on the phone. She then stopped & said - I have wanted to call all these years & thank-you for being in my life. Those were hard years of mine when I moved there & you saved me. I don't know what I would have done with my life if I hadn't had dance & you to help me..... WOW!! WHAT??? It did count & I did make a difference? After all those long hours & some miserable days, awnry parents, girls hating me, dragging my 2 little boys out at 4:30 am every morning in the cold wind & weather... to put up with 19 girls who seemed to only care about themselves! She kept repeating it over & over about how much I meant in her life & how I was her mother figure & how I did those things for her - that her mother didn't/couldn't do.
What a neat phone call! Not only to hear that I made a difference to her... but to see that she was able to escape the life she was living here, get out of town, & find an awesome spouse. I am so proud of her & that she has been able to do so much with her life!!!
She is coming up this weekend & I can't wait to see her again & meet her family! I will have to get some pictures!! I am so excited!!! What a nice ending to a pretty nice day!

I would encourage & challenge anyone who reads this.... that if someone has done something nice for you or has made a difference, in your life... take a moment to thank them!! Even if it is just a quick e-mail, a letter, a hug! Wow - it really does mean a lot!! ~ Thanks Jessica for making my day!!