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Make a Difference

Make a Difference: Show Up

Let's show up for our loved ones.
Showing up really matters.

As I sat in the stands at my daughter’s commencement ceremony, I saw her looking for us. I waved, but she kept looking. (“It’s hard to see your mom wave when everyone’s mom is waving,” she told me later.) She did finally spot us, but before she did, I thought she seemed a little worried. It turned out that I was right. Our family came in two separate cars, and for a while, she wondered if everyone had managed to make it on time.

I remember how much it mattered to me at that age when people showed up. I scanned the audience at school concerts. Were the people who mattered to me there? Even when I was a prickly and semi-independent teen, I wanted my family to be there for me.

When I was in first grade, we had a class concert for our parents. At the end, there was a big “surprise” as we unveiled a drawing that tied in with the theme to the concert. It really wasn’t a big deal in the scheme of things, but it was a big deal to me. My dad was working, but I was counting on my mom to come. Unfortunately, I gave her the wrong time, so she missed the concert. It wasn’t her fault, and I knew that. Still, I was heartbroken. I could sing the songs for her myself, I could point out the piece of art on the classroom wall, but it wasn’t the same. Decades later, I still remember standing with the other kids as we performed and wondering where my mom was.

Truthfully, it still matters for me when people I love are there for me.

Most of us will miss the occasional concert or game or special event. But when we make the time to be there for a loved one, it really matters. When they scan the crowd, let’s be there for them to find.

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