Dear Reader:

Halloween is over. November 1 has arrived. All Saints Day. The day we remember (not only the scriptural saints) but also our loved ones who have gone before us. It is a day to step back and give ourselves time to think about our own lives, the brevity of the days, and how to step up more to the plate for others in the time given us.

Yesterday morning, when I decided to get started on today’s blog (since I would be going over to John and Mandy’s to see the children trick or treat in late afternoon/evening) my thoughts turned left and right in direction.

First, I got the idea of using this phrase (stepping back while stepping up) from Louise Penny. At the end of novel 12, I started reading her “Acknowledgements” and discovered that her beloved husband, Michael (whom the main character, Armand Gamache, is loosely based on) had dementia.

I was moved to tears from her personal story and struggle. She was thanking friends, family, the community, publishers, editors, and  the readers for the support she has received throughout this difficult time….especially trying to write in the midst of it all.

It was one acknowledged thank you that got me started along this line of thinking…Penny thanked her agent for “stepping back while stepping up” …for being a friend first and a colleague second. In other words deadlines had to be pushed back, book tours cancelled, while support and friendship took the driver’s seat.

Then I started thinking back to a time when I had witnessed “stepping back to step up” first-hand. It was a hard memory to re-live but an important one.

One day, while teaching, my classes had gotten to the “Roaring Twenties” period of American History. I was reading some excerpts from the wonderful book Cheaper by the Dozen (written by the oldest son, Frank Gilbreth Junior and his sister Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.) It tells the story of growing up in a family of twelve siblings during the 1920’s.

(* We residents of the lowcountry have a special affinity for Frank Gilbreth, Jr since he was a popular columnist for the Post and Courier for decades…his column was called Doing the Charleston while using his pen name- Ashley Cooper. )

Many of these articles were bound together in book form due to the popularity of the witty writings and observations of people and the lowcountry.

The students were laughing at some of the true antics of the parents and twelve children during this time period of history when I remember my classroom door opened. There stood Mr. Charlie Dubose, our school superintendent at the time. He was a wonderful man but could terrify a young teacher…since his philosophy was that a teacher never sat down but always walked the classroom while teaching.

My first thought when I saw him walk in was….”Oh my gosh! I am leaning up against the desk”…so I immediately stood up, kept reading, but started walking around the classroom.

It was only then that I realized  another faculty teacher was with him. I kept reading but my face was puzzled…what was going on?

Mr. Dubose nodded to me, called me over, and told me that the teacher with him would now take over my class…she would pick up the story where I left off. With trembling hands I handed the book to the teacher and then followed Mr. Dubose out into the hall; but not before he told me to collect my pocketbook, jacket, etc. to take with me.

My mind was swirling…had I done something wrong…was I being replaced…what was going on?

I will never forget Mr. Dubose hugged me right there in the hall and told me we would talk in an empty classroom adjacent to mine. He told me that my mother-in-law Dee Dee, her neighbor, and my son, Walsh (four at the time) had all been in a serious car accident…right in the middle of town…at the one major intersection (at that time) by Town Hall.

Mr. Dubose had already contacted my husband and told him to go directly to the hospital and that he would come get me. He didn’t know the condition of everyone but he did know that everyone was alive. He told me he was taking me straight to the hospital to join the rest of the family and that my oldest daughter Mandy was being picked up from school and taken care of by more family.

I had so many questions but I knew they would have to wait until I got to the hospital. All the way to the hospital Mr. Dubose quoted scripture and kept patting my hand with reassuring words, that it might take time, but everything would be okay.

He was exactly right…things were serious but everyone pulled through and everything returned to normal…except for a greater appreciation for life and family.

I later discovered that Walsh had been sitting on the console between grandmother Dee Dee and her neighbor who was driving. They had planned to drop Walsh off at a church pre-school in order  for them to attend a planned activity when the wreck happened. Their car was hit by a huge truck.

It truly is a miracle all survived. Several years later I taught a student who told me that his mother, a registered nurse, was the first one on the scene after the accident. The wreck threw Walsh out of the car…all the way over to the park. He had hobbled up and was trying to walk when the nurse chased him down and made him lie down to check to see if his neck or back was broken.

At our first-parent-teacher-conference the student’s mother told me the whole story of what happened that day and I told her that she was my son’s guardian angel…no doubt.

And Mr. Dubose? I later discovered that he and some of the district staff were supposed to fly out that day for a national educational conference but he stayed behind and flew out the next day …not leaving until he knew the prognosis of everyone.

Mr. Dubose had stepped back from his own life’s daily plans to step up and help a teacher, in need, in his school district.

So until tomorrow…May we all take time to step back from our daily plans and goals, take time to reassess our lives, and then step forward with an action plan to help others…letting each day be “All Saints Day.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Today is the first day of the month of November. Say “Rabbit” and have a wonderful month of thanksgiving!

Before I left to go over to Eva Cate and Jakie’s to watch them trick or treat…Cindy Ashley stopped by to pick up a book she had loaned me. I told her I needed her to model some of my Halloween gear I found after cleaning out closets this past summer. She had brought some napkins that said “More Boo’s Please“…too cute! Then I got a photo from Honey…now this witch has it going on….party time!

We had fun last night…there were so many trick or treaters we needed a traffic cop to control the crowds…perfect weather for Halloween….cool with an almost full moon. Carrie was able to join us…always so wonderful to see her…John held down the fort at home while the rest of us took the kids trick or treating…the smell of burnt autumn leaves was in the air…the scent of fall….lovely!