Five People

Five random people who have taught me lasting lessons without even knowing it:

• The cute guy in my college skiing class (I don't even remember his name) who was on the swim team but who was a lousy, lousy skier. Everyone on the bus thought he was one of the instructors. He was a proven athlete who was confident enough to take a risk, putting himself out there to learn something he wanted to learn even if he looked funny doing it.
• My cousin Joe's wife, Tammi, who is an amazing mom. Years ago I watched her helping her kids do tricks on a trampoline, and she always made sure that they ended their turn doing something she knew they'd do successfully.
• My aunt Sigrid, who just takes care of business. I was baby sitting my younger cousins one night and when she came home, probably about midnight and probably pretty tired, she immediately set to work sewing on a button that had fallen off the coat she was wearing.
• Todd and Jonathan, two writers I worked with years ago on a documentation team at an educational software company. They spent hours passionately discussing style guide controversies, like whether or not we should use commas in a series. And I do mean hours. Technically I never earned a degree in English, but I sure feel like I have!