When I was in fifth grade at St. Mary’s Elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia, a new student joined our class. One Friday morning early in the school year, I noticed that all of my friends brought their overnight duffels and sleeping bags to school with them, because they had been invited to a sleep over at this particular person’s house. I had not. It wasn’t easy going through the day knowing that they were going to have a great time together that night, and that I was the only one left out. It was, however, a formative moment in my life. 

That day in school I had to be tough. It would have be totally acceptable for me to have a good cry in the bathroom and to complain to my teacher or my other friends. But I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to be strong and in control of my emotions, and I think I did a pretty good job of it that day. Now I’m sure I went home and told my mom about it. If you’ve read Blog Post #5, you know that my mom Nancy is extremely strong and tough, so I guess I come by it honestly. 

But I also adapted a saying around that time in my life that you might recognize if you grew up in the eighties like I did. There was an author/illustrator who was popular during my childhood named Sandra Boynton. I had one of her books, Don’t Let the Turkeys Get You Down. This is not a children’s book and I don’t know how I ended up with it but really, the title says it all. There will always be people (turkeys) trying to bring you down. The key is to gain enough confidence to recognize a turkey when you encounter one, and just move on. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve used this expression over the years, and whether I’m saying it to myself or my kids, it always gives me the warm and fuzzies. Because I know I’ve taught them a lifelong lesson. You are too valuable to let a silly little turkey ruin your day.

I think the benefits from this simple saying are far reaching. The confidence gained will allow you to do things you never though possible. Because you won’t worry about the naysayers, the critics or the doubters. You’ll forge ahead, create your own path and never look back. 

As for the new student in my fifth grade class- we actually became great friends. And that story became part of our history. Our lives have gotten busy, and we don’t get to talk a lot, but when we do, we can pick up right where we left off, like no time has passed us by. I guess that’s another take away from today’s post: give a turkey a chance, because once a turkey, not always a turkey!