Day 12 of Happiness: Tribute Time

All week I was a tad bit nervous about Friday coming along.

It was finally tribute time and I needed a speech....

Before I get into why I was making a speech, here is a little background info:

Since the fall of 2000 I have been involved with a literacy center called Project CALL (Center for Adult Learning and Literacy).  I got started in college as part of a class assignment and then stayed as a tutor until I graduated.  I tutored students in both the GED and pre-GED programs grammar, math, and English and then also taught a computer class two days a week.  It was my first exposure to teaching and I found I really loved it.  When I left for grad school I continued to help out my creating curricula for PowerPoint and Microsoft that the students could use during the class.  When I would come home on breaks I would "guest" teach a few classes and help Sr. Delia (the Sister than ran the center) with random computer problems. 
Actually, Sr. Delia is the reason I stayed on.  She was pretty persistent and very good at using guilt (in a good way) to make me do things and get me to come back.  I loved my students at the Center and pretty much adopted Sr. Delia as a member of the family.  Every once in a while we'd meet for church, go out for brunch, tool around Baltimore, drive past her old B-more neighborhood, cook dinner at her house, etc.  Many Sundays have been spent hanging out with Sister Delia.

Well, about a year or so ago, Sister Delia had a stroke.  Then a few months later, she had another stroke.  The first stroke really affected her speech, reading/writing skills, and math skills.  As a teacher/principal by trade this was a hard adjustment for her.  She pretty much went from being the teacher to being the student - and she's not the most patient person!!  Although she'd doing great these days and has gained back many of her skills, running the literacy center is out of the question.

Which brings me to the present.

Yesterday was the official closing of Project CALL.  We had decided the best option was to fold the center into another literacy program that was looking to expand into our neighborhood.  All the paperwork had been signed and the Board of Directors had been disolved.  Well, we didn't want the Center to disappear without another thought.  So we, the Board of Directors (I was eventually promoted from tutor to Board Member), put together a tribute to Sister Delia and all the work she's done for the city of Baltimore.  There were about 60 people who showed up including other School Sisters of Notre Dame, former tutors and students, and friends. 
So, why was I so nervous about this?  I had [stupidly] agreed to speak.  Yes.  Like I didn't realize how horrible I was at speech-making during my sister's wedding, I had to go ahead and volunteer myself again. Will I ever learn???

The other, slightly humerous, thing, was that no one actually had any idea who I was at this event.  Picture this:  Sister Delia just turned 80 years old this year, all her friends and fellow nuns are around her age, the other board members are probably around 50 or so, and even her extended family of nieces and nephews were around 40ish.  Then there was me.  Regardless of my true age, I still look like I'm pushing 22 or so (although tonight I had on my very professional looking clothes).  I'm sure everyone was wondering who I was.  Then I get up to speak and I could see everyone's surprise.  They were thinking - who is this girl?  I thought she was just responsible for handing out people's nametags at the front door?  How does she know Sister Delia???

Luckily the speech went ok and afterward everyone came over and told me how much they liked what I said (I'm surprised they understood me because I spoke SO fast) and how happy they were to meet me.  What was ironic was that pretty much EVERYONE knew who I was by name.  Sister Delia talks about me ALL the time apparently - it's just that before the speech no one had a face to put to the name.  But now they knew.  I was pretty glad that I had learned some great manners while in Honduras.  In Honduras, before you say anything, you must always welcome everyone, wish them a good evening/morning/etc., and thank them for coming.  This has proven to be an invaluable habit of mine - I seem so polite and put together.  If you are ever doing a speech, toast, or anything of the sort - I would adapt this intro.  I always get a lot of smiles.

Here's a great photo of Sister Delia, two of my former students, and me.  I was SOOO excited to see them.

Well - that is my spot of happiness.

A heartfelt tribute to an amazing person.