What a lovely event I worked tonight. It was a celebration of a woman who died in January. She was the matriarch of a family of four who had retired with her husband in the Shenandoah Valley. I didn't know her, but I was glad to be part of a time when family and friends came together to honor her. I didn't want to work tonight, and barely made any money after paying my sitter. But you know what? Sometimes service isn't about making money. Sometimes it's about being in the right place at the right time to learn a little bit about other people, and to be there for them when they need people who care to be present for them. I'm honored to have played this very small role in a family's life, the same way I'm honored to be there when people get married, when people graduate, when people have a need to celebrate. The best thing tonight was coming home and being able to tell my daughter all about it. She's one of the most important people in my life,
Striking down the mundane and dastardly while retaining a certain obscure turn of phrase, denoting something elusive yet concrete.