On the last Friday in February, I walked into the boardroom thinking I was there to quickly help someone set up technology before returning to my office for a meeting scheduled at that exact same time. What I didn’t know was that the person who booked a meeting with me had also orchestrated help being needed in the boardroom. I rushed into the boardroom that morning to find a table bordered with beautiful shades of pink balloons as well as clear balloons with confetti inside. There were platters of sweets, a framed piece of art, a bouquet of flowers, a card, and a note sitting in the middle of the boardroom table. There was another table with additional cookies and punch.
My brain wasn’t registering. Did they need me to turn on the screen for them? Were they preparing for a shower? It wasn’t registering that the framed art in the center of the table was my art- it was a fully assembled 525-piece puzzle of “You Are Free/Juneteenth.” A few months ago, a colleague bought one of my puzzles at our school holiday market. Since our school theme for Black History Month was, “Changing Lives Through Service,” my colleague had rallied her team to assemble my puzzle and honor me for the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging work I was doing- specifically this year’s work around identity and conflict.
As my brain started slowly processing that this boardroom gathering was for me, my emotions began to swirl. Why would they do this for me? I felt embarrassed and undeserving. Had I done enough to deserve this- this HUGE gesture of appreciation?
Before I could sink further into feelings of unworthiness, a colleague began to read a message from the organizer of this precious moment. While she couldn’t be there due to a schedule conflict, she had come to work early, set up, and emailed a message to be read.
To our Director of DEIB, Ms. Ashley,
With this year’s Black History Month theme being “Changing Lives Through Service,” it was so befitting to honor you today as the sacred, vital, and transformative month concludes. The work you do in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) is no easy task. It requires courage, vision, and resilience. DEIB leaders often carry the responsibility of challenging long-standing systems, navigating resistance, and/or misunderstanding. This work changes lives by removing barriers, addressing inequities, and cultivating spaces where differences are acknowledged and celebrated, and you lead this charge with such integrity and grace. In every DEIB session, [our school] community comes away with more understanding, empathy, compassion, and awareness for themselves and others.* You are a remarkable gift to our school, and we hope this gesture conveys just how grateful we are for your leadership and service.
Hugs from us all! :-)
Floored.
Flloored by the gift of their presence, appreciation, effort, time, and gifts (flowers, card, gift card).
Floored by the coming together of this team over the entire month of February…VOLUNTARILY!
Seeing that assembled puzzle stirred something in my heart.
Seeing that assembled puzzle reinvigorated my belief that each and every one of us holds great power, agency, and responsibility that when exercised can change things.
Seeing that assembled puzzle strengthened the light of hope in my eyes.
Side note: I have been struggling with my physical sight for a couple of years now, needing to brighten the light in rooms where I have to read for extended periods of time. I have a tall lamp behind my desk, a small lamp on my desk, and the regular ceiling light in my office. I use ALL of them when reading documents. The ophthalmologist said it was due to aging, dry eyes, and a need for progressive lenses. Eye drops, prescription lenses, and LIGHT have become a necessity for me to see clearly and make progress in my work.
That day in the boardroom, a small but mighty group of colleagues turned up the light where societal ills had been trying to dim my vision and squelch my hope. It wasn’t just their gift but moreso their collaborative effort to put together a 525-piece puzzle over several weeks. They demonstrated the power of both an individual exercising agency and a collective working together to have a significant impact. These were not a group of individuals with a lot of free time. This was a collective of hardworking staff members holding a variety of positions, full plates and cares of their own, who rallied around the idea and effort of an individual team member to assemble a puzzle in honor of the DEIB work happening in their organization. Wow!
To my colleague, her teammates, and all who rallied around her idea and effort: Thank you for being my community of lights. You have not only been a source of light to me but also a source of encouragement. I hope you see your power and light the way I do.
