The three most powerful words...

I always hear that the three most powerful words are "I love you", but if you have read any of my previous posts, you know that I feel most people over use and under appreciate those words. To me, the three most powerful words are "I need you"- or any variation of that.

I need to feel needed, and when anyone I love or respect tells me "I need you" or "I need your help"- I will climb through fire, swim through infested waters, and give the shirt off my back to fill the need. This happens at work a lot. Work, I feel appreciated- not always by my 110 7th graders (although I tell them they will remember me forever), but by my colleagues and administrators. My AP always ends our conversations with "Hey, I appreciate you." While it sounds silly, and sometimes it still catches me off-guard. I know he means it with all sincerity and it is his way of recognizing the things I do above and beyond, that I consider the norm.

The other night I received a call from my Sister-In-Law. She has just moved closer to us with my brother, niece, and nephew. Transition sucks for Moms... especially non-working Moms who have small children not in school. I was there last year. Moving sucks to central Florida. Sorry folks, but in many areas people are not welcoming. When we moved here 2 years ago, I was shunned by Mom's Groups as an 'outsider', I couldn't get phone calls returned from other Mom's Organizations, and the volunteer opportunities at the girls' school were not conducive to meeting other Moms and making friends. The Moms I did meet had nothing in common with me- a low maintenance, drink beer out of the bottle kind of gal. I did not like going to the beauty shop, did not have nails (an occassional pedicure was one thing) and had no idea Vera Wang made pants. Talk about being a fish out of water. I thought play groups meant jeans and a sweatshirt, or shorts and a tank- always with a baseball cap. I had no idea heels were required, jeans a no/no and full make-up and jewelry were prerequisites. I cried a lot. I was lonely a lot. I left the house less and less. My husband worried, my father panicked, my clothes got a heck of a lot looser because I lost another 20 pounds.

So, I said, I have to go back to work. I did not want to re-open the photography studio because it was not daily interaction with colleagues- it was interactions with clients. I wanted to teach my whole life, and Florida gave me that option. I fumbled through the alternative certification process, and applied for the first job. There I met a wonderful principal who hired me... I thought "God, thank you for answering my prayers." I had a purpose, I had a way to meet people, and I could fulfill a dream. The year at that school was amazing. I met wonderful people, made lifelong friends, and was mentored to be a successful teacher. It also opened doors with my Mom- who was in education for over 20 years, and a sister-in-law who teaches in Ohio. So my accidental career change has changed my life in so many ways.

But getting back to my sister-in-law. She is in the same transition, at that same lonely place, and she called to say she needed me. I am very blessed to have hubby P who has the same need for those three words as I do, and said- jump through fire, swim in infested waters- you need to be there for her. So, tonight I get to spend a girls' night out with one remarkable woman. I get to go shopping, eat dinner and see a movie that has nothing to do with war, cars, violence, or testosterone. I get to make someone laugh, help a friend realize that we all have 'bad Mommy days" and that life gets better in Central Florida- just not overnight.

What she has no idea of, is that saying those three little words did more for me than they will ever do for her. She will make friends, she will have a happy and successful life in her new town, and she will forget she ever needed me. But I won't, when I feel useless I will remember that phone call and know I was worthy to someone for one moment.