My youngest son is finishing up fourth grade, which means the end of elementary school. Doug and I were in his classroom this morning for an end-of-year celebration.
His wonderful teacher put together some of his writings from the last few school years for us to take home and she also shared a poem with everyone that I had never heard before.
It’s called “The Guy in the Glass” by Dale Wimbrow, and it was just so sweet.
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
and the world makes you kind for a day,
then go to the mirror and look at yourself and see what that guy has to say.
For it isn’t your mother, brother, or friends
whose judgment you must pass.
The person whose verdict counts most in your life
is the one staring back in the glass.
You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
and get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears,
if you’ve cheated the guy in the glass.
It made me tear up this morning when I heard it, and it makes me a little weepy now.
I shared the story last week about being the ‘squeaky wheel‘ with one of my older son’s teachers a few years back and how the school acted immediately. It’s just another reminder of why finding a place to send your kids that reflects your values is so important.
I feel like we have a partner in character building. We tell our kids to look in that glass and know what’s true, and what’s real, and what’s right, and you need people around to reinforce that. If you don’t have that, you’ve got to find it.