Pay "Your Education Forward"

Today we went to Fenway Park for a Mass Celebrating 150 years of Boston College and Boston College High School.  Our daughter Mary was singing in the B.C. Chorale at the Mass., in front of over 20,000 people.  Before we went to this Mass, we went and saw our son Michael's band "The WonderMics perform on the Boston Common as the opening act for Boston's Freedom Rally, also in front of 20,000 people.  It was a day full of pride for us and also full of music. 

At the Mass, the priest who said the homily, spoke of a core principal of Catholicism.  Paraphrasing, that principle is," If you hold on to something and refuse to let it go, you are sure to lose it.  But if you give of it freely, trying to give all you have, then you will keep it forever."  He said that the Jesuits apply this principle to many things, but today's focus is education, as a result of celebrating B.C's Sesquicentennial (150 years).  He mentioned, that no amount of prestige, no amount of money, not who you know, what your title is or even "where"you got your education, is as important, as taking what you have learned and sharing it with others.  That is truly the gift of education....Pay it forward.

When I thought about this, I knew that my High School friend was sitting somewhere in the Fenway stands, and I realized that she (who is a B.C. graduate) shared her education freely with my own family.  She was working as a nurse, when I had my second child in 1986.  He was a scheduled C-section, and I asked her if she would be present at his birth.  She said yes and then proceeded to be present at births of our final four children.  So much so, that when we had our third child, I asked her to be his godmother.  He was born very sick and was given a 5% chance of living. Because she was there, she was present for his quick baptism shortly after he was born.  We are truly blessed for having her in our lives, and she took her nursing education and shared it with us. 

I used to feel like I was missing something, because I did not finish College.  But I realized today, that while I didn't have a formal degree to share, I had some learned experiences with Music, that I in turn shared with my children.  Today, I saw the returns of my giving my love of music to my children, in their performances.  I gave it freely, and I will keep the memories of my children's performances today forever. They were sharing their music with others, paying it forward.

Pay your education forward, be it a College education, or the Education of everyday life.  It is a gift to share, not to hold onto.