It Takes A Village

So last week on Thursday, our son Jacob was selected as the Houston Chronicle Student of the Week and there was a nice piece about him in the paper. Before I'd even seen it, I opened up my inbox to this email from a substitute teacher he'd had in fifth grade:

Barbara, I just saw article in today's neighborhood section of the Houston Chronicle about Jacob and his accomplishments. I know you are so proud of him. I remember how outstanding he was 7 years ago when I was his fifth grade teacher's long term sub. I am so happy for him and for you that his talent and achievements are being recognized. Tell him Ms. K from 5th grade said congrats!!

Shortly afterward, I got another email, this one from a band mom we know: 

Wow!! Congratulations! What a great write up in the paper. I will save my copy for you. You must be so proud.

Another from a community member: Barbara, How proud you must be of this young man. Way to go!!

And another from a teacher at our sister school: Barbara, thought you'd like an extra copy. You must be very proud! Jacob is a very handsome, accomplished young man - like his mom. 

And one more, from a friend, whose son is also a National Merit Semi-Finalist: Awesome article - congratulations. You must be so proud! Glad to see such a bright, talented boy get recognized. 

Then when I got home I found this, a copy of the paper in my plant, probably from a neighbor:

And many more copies have since come our way, all with congratulatory words expressing happiness for us and our son. It's such a gift, that people would stop to write a note and send us their papers so we can forward them to our friends and family in Wisconsin. But even more heartwarming is that each of these thoughtful stakeholders has helped us bring up our boy. None of what we've done has happened in isolation; it truly does take a village to raise a child, and, in our case, we've been abundantly blessed to live in an incredible town. Through their kind words, these caring and compassionate villagers have reminded me how important it is to take the time to affirm one another, to be there cheering each other on, and to celebrate good news together.