Just the Secretary

Not too long ago, I received the following little gem of a phone call at work:

Him: "Yeah, I'd like to speak to someone about the Science Fair."

Me: "Oh! You're speaking to the right person. How may I help you?"

Him: "Well....um... who are you?"

Me: I said my name when I answered the phone, but anyway...
"This is Diane. I coordinated the Science Fair this year. Is there something I can help you with?"

Him: "Sooooo. Ummmm.... Do you work there?"

Me: No. I'm some derelict that wandered in off the street. I heard a phone ringing and I answered it.
"Yes, I sure do. I'm the secretary here. Can I help you?" (For the 50th time?)

Him: "So let me get this straight. You're JUST the secretary down there, and they put YOU are in charge of the Science Fair??"

Me: cringing that he said 'JUST the secretary.'
"Yes, that's right."

Him: "Don't take this the wrong way, but why in the world wasn't a teacher put in charge of the Science Fair? Or someone at least with a science background?"

Me: Yeah, thanks, I'll try not to take that the wrong way.
"Well, you know, I do happen to have a 'science background'."
(completely irritated that I have to defend myself to this dude.)
"I have a degree in Microbiology and worked many years as a Medical Technologist."
OR maybe you'd rather have a teacher with a degree in Home Ec be in charge? Not that there's anything wrong with a Home Ec degree, you understand, but you want someone that doesn't know the Scientific Method from a hole in the ground running the thing? Not that an elementary Science Fair is rocket science. But still.

Him: "Oh...."

Me: How do you like dem apples?
"So, sir, HOW CAN I HELP YOU?"

Him: "I just wanted to pass on that I thought the Science Fair was well organized this year."

Me: Oh gee - thanks.

Him: "And I was just curious...if you supposedly have all this science background, why are you there? Why are you just the secretary at my son's school?"

There's that 'just the secretary' nugget again.

Yeah. I'm not sure if this guy was trying hard to be JUST an idiot, or if it came naturally.

But I do get asked that a lot. Why am I the secretary at my kids' school? There are many answers to that question. Sometimes, to be honest, I don't have a CLUE what I'm doing here. Coincidentally, this clueless feeling usually occurs on the days I'm cleaning up puke or helping a kid who just peed all over the floor.

I used to think I was here because I got 1/2 off my kids' tuition by working here. (Don't get me wrong - that's huge! That's why I accepted the job. But that's not why I stay.) I'm here for a lot of reasons. I have a lot of stories I could tell that answers that question. But I'll just tell one today.

There's a little girl that goes to school here. When she started in September, she was very angry. She never smiled. She did not talk. And every single morning she was tardy. But I didn't mind, because as I wrote out her tardy slip, I smiled at her and told her I hoped that she would have a good day. She never smiled back and never said a word to me. In fact, she glared at me most mornings.

She gets in trouble. A lot. She's in the principal's office all the time. She struggles academically. And she was even moved back a grade. The other kids don't play with her because they say she's not nice. The teachers dog her because she misbehaves. All of this made her even angrier.

I don't know much about her home life, but I know her mom is a struggling single mom, and she tries hard.

So here it is March. I have spent six months smiling at this girl, winking at her in the halls, giving her quick words of encouragement, with nothing back. Zip. Nada.

That all changed this week!

This week, this little girl has started to soften! She smiles back! She winks back. And yesterday? Yesterday she paused in front of my window until I looked up, and then she smiled. She smiled first.

Maybe that doesn't sound like much to you. But I know that I am making a small difference in this little girl's life. I'm not sure why she's softening, I'm just glad she is. I'm thankful she's here in our school. And I'm thankful that I'm 'just the secretary' at this school.

That's why I'm here, Mr. Jerk on the phone. I'm here for the little girl that smiles at me now, and a million other little reasons. I could be in a lab someplace making a lot more than I do now. And, maybe I will do that again some day. But right now? I'm here.

I'm here because I believe God placed me here. I believe He wants me to do what I can to make a difference, as small as it is, in the lives of the children here.

Isn't that what it's all about?

(Oh yeah. And also? I get a month off in the summer & Christmas and Easter breaks off. Don't forget THAT.)