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| Mrs. Eubanks |
March 27, 2001 |
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Dear Friends,
How do you measure the value of a life? Too often we use the wrong yardsticks: celebrity or wealth or power or popularity.
On Monday morning I met some students and staff members at Eisenhower Middle School whose lives have been touched by a wonderful woman -- their Principal, Mrs. Virginia Eubanks.
A few weeks ago, I asked New Mexicans to tell me about women who have made a difference as part of celebrating women`s history month. There were lots of deserving women, but I got over a hundred letters from students and former students and parents and teachers about Mrs. Eubanks.
Mrs. Eubanks is at home now. She`s very ill and I called her at home on Friday just to tell her how many people think she is a pretty special lady. And on Monday, I went to school to talk to some of the kids who had written to me.
I admit, I`m a real marshmallow when it comes to things like this, but the trail of little stories told with childlike clarity really touched my heart.
The boy who said she seemed to know when kids were sad. He was sad once and she noticed and asked him what was wrong and helped him to feel better.
The laughter about her willingness to do really goofy things like wear a turkey suit and get pies in the face if it would encourage kids to do well.
The boy who said he was lost the first week of school and she helped him find his way, and she`s so nice about everything.
According to the kids, she`s always smiling and she`s famous for her performance at crossing guard duty. After laughing about some of her antics as crossing guard, one boy said, "You always have to give her a big ol` wave as you go by. She makes us feel like we`re her own kids."
His words hung in the air and in my heart for a long moment.
When I was his age, or perhaps a little older, I thought that the greatest virtue was integrity. But I don`t anymore. The greatest virtue is love. And it seems that is what Mrs. Eubanks has brought to her school and her students. Not in some superficial or generalized way, but very personally with hundreds of students and faculty at a bustling Albuquerque middle school.
In a letter to the school explaining about the tumor in her liver, Mrs. Eubanks asked them to keep the light on in her office while she`s gone. Mrs. Eubanks` lights are shining brightly at Eisenhower, but not just in her office.
My good husband and I share a common belief that God gives you gifts, and then he comes back to check on you to see how you used them. My hunch is that God is well pleased with Mrs. Eubanks. That`s a good measure of the value of a life.
Wish you were here,
Heather |
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