unexpected gift

Christmas Day came and went.

it was another COVID celebration spent alone... well I did have Kismet to keep me company.

yesterday started great, as I got a chance to head up to Cypress in the morning to get a few powder runs in before my out of shape legs called it quits.

but after I was dropped off at home the solitude crept back in.

I looked around my space and its devoid of decorations, of people, of life. I think back to just 2 years ago, when family would gather together to laugh, love and live.

now today I look out the window and see the driveway that needs to be shovelled yet again.

yet again...

yeah. but I rather take care of it now rather than wait for the snow to turn into ice.

as I'm clearing the driveway a lady approaches me and asks "did you graduate from Argyle and sponsored an art program?"

I reply that I did graduate from Argyle a long time ago and I did sponsor the Design44 program.

she tells me she's walked past the house many, many times... but this is the first time she saw me and wanted to share that her daughter was one of my students.

tells me the story of

how her daughter loved that class,

how her daughter went to Emily Carr School of Art & Design,

how her daughter graduated and became a graphic designer,

how her daughter ended up meeting her fiancee while going to Emily Carr...

how none of this would have been possible if her daughter didn't have the portfolio of work from Design44 to present to the Entrance Committee at Emily Carr.

she thanked me for giving her daughter a chance to become who she is now.

as I took in her words all I could see is

Impact.

impact...

Impact.

that's the pivot I made a long time ago. Gave up chasing after money in order to have impact upon this world, but I wasn't sure how to achieve that.

now I understand that it all started when I chose to give back.

even though at times... many, many times... I wondered if I was actually having an affect at all, I still chose to continue.

now I understand that impact doesn't happen right away.

it could take months

it could take years

it could take more than a decade.

just because I can't see it happen, doesn't mean something isn't.

I saw the gratitude in her eyes

I felt the emotion behind her words

I thanked her for connecting with me.

as she walked away, I thought about the other kids that took that class.

I imagined what they are like now.

imagined what they are like...

yeah.

some gifts come in the most unexpected ways.

#chasingbutterflies