Bring on the Rain
“I wouldn’t want your job” is a comment I hear often. Why would anyone want to be a principal? A principal works in a constant “storm” of chaos, crises, and conflicting demands that makes the job feel like your steering a sailboat through an Atlantic Ocean northeaster. But I like the “rain and wind. “ I don’t know if I could work in calm waters.
Jo de Messina sings, “Tomorrows another day, I am not afraid, so bring on the rain”. I could not agree more. I am confidant in stating bring on the rain because I am not alone. My sailboat has a crew of teachers, staff, and community members who weather the storm to “be there.”
We are there to feed the hungry and cloth the cold.
We are there to comfort the hurting.
We are there to shelter the abandoned.
We are there to encourage and challenge.
We are there to hold them as they cry.
We are there to recognize their achievement.
We are there to teach character and connect feelings.
We are there to listen.
We are there to offer a kind word on a bad day.
As we thrive in the storm we know the sun will shine again and we will be there to celebrate when:
A child makes a friend.
A family learns to support one another.
A struggling child learns to read.
A loss child finds the path and runs towards a better future.
A hurting child finds a safe place.
The “storm” is where we work because we have the faith in a better day. The day when a former lost and hurting child comes back and shares when we were “there” for them in their time of need. Tears of joy will flow where once flowed tears of sorrow. On that day, we know we made a difference in the life of a child.
“Tomorrow’s another day, I am thirsty anyway, so bring on the rain.” I wouldn’t want it any other way because what we endure is nothing compared to what a hurting, discouraged and lost child experiences. Someone else can have the calm water. I am a principal who serves in the storm.
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