Bringing CERCIE Back

Let's not dwell on the fact that I have abandoned this blog for nearly four years ... !

Let's dwell on the Cercie moment of the day: The Intern Cercie.

It's Monday. It's raining. It's dreary. We file into staff meeting, go around the table detailing our busy calendars for the week. As I walk out of the board room and pass Ms. Yvonne's receptionist desk, she calls me aside. "Amy, I have something for you." She pulls out a pretty package with a card. "The intern that worked for you last year came by last week and left this for you," she said. I snatched it up with glee, like a little dog grabbing a bone and running off to enjoy it in private. I snuck off to my office and set it on my desk, admiring it, savoring the moment of anticipation before opening it.

The card was dear. The kindest, most endearing words. Taylor the Intern is on her way to working a job at Teach for America in South Carolina, thanks to my guidance and recommendations and so on. I thought to myself, "You did all that on your own, girl. I was just cheerleading." But it really touched me. I thought about the little encouragements we give and get throughout the day, throughout our lives. They matter, and they mattered to my former intern so much that she went out of her way to thank me.

She remembered how I always had a Tervis tumbler full of coffee, and that I'm a Furman grad, so I was thrilled when I pulled the purple and white curly ribbon off the package to pull out a new tumbler with a Furman logo on it! I read and reread Taylor's note. She is a lovely writer.

I can't think of a better person to be going into schools in distressed areas of the state to help transform the lives of young people who rarely get those little encouragements in life, the young people who rarely get to feel the Cercie Joy that I did today.