Imagine me at our Gala Auction on the last night of February! Pardon the pun, but my heart took a leap. It was after all February 29. Within the happy hum of a Villa auction crowd, I was enjoying conversation at my table and was caught unaware. It had just been announced that I was the recipient of the “Heart of Villa Award” given annually to a Villa parent volunteer.

      As I was beckoned to the podium, my 14-year old daughter, Keely, stood at the base of the stage, all fresh and golden; isn’t every mother’s daughter an angel? Together we climbed the stairs to the stage where I accepted this incredibly special honor. This year, two parents shared the award—making it doubly special! It was an honor to share this recognition with Jim Williams, Jake’s father. I am sure that I speak for both of us in describing it as our “proudest but most humble moment” at Villa Academy.

      In the days since that special night, I began to reflect on what a privilege it has been to share my personal time and effort on behalf of this exceptional school. I began to contemplate how quickly these years have flown, and to experience the blur that must be felt by all eighth grade parents as our children begin the inevitable journey toward new goals and higher education. It seemed a perfect time to share some thoughts about the “privilege of volunteerism.”

      My comments are geared in particular toward the lucky parents whose children will be returning to Villa in the years ahead. You cannot yet appreciate how difficult it will be for the rest of us parents to drive to school on that last day in June, making our final decision: Do we veer left on the yellow road? Or right on the blue? We won’t have the luxury of returning in the fall to a school we know and love, a school that has prepared our children so well to enter high school, equipped for the challenges that lay inside new classrooms, labs, and gymnasiums.

      It is now, at the end of our own family’s “Villa years,” that I feel inspired to encourage all parents to make the most of every volunteer opportunity available to you in your remaining years at this extraordinary school! Whether you serve in a lunch line, transport students on a field trip, stuff envelopes in the Development Office, coach a second grade soccer team, cut carrots in the school kitchen, or help a kindergarten teacher with the unending displays of student masterpieces (yes—you can help from home!) your involvement as a volunteer is priceless to both the school and to your child!

      Many of you are already aware that the rewards reflected in your child’s eyes are immeasurable! There is nothing more important to your child than having you be part of their waking day. After all, from that first morning in kindergarten until they march up to accept their eighth grade diploma, the majority of their waking hours will be spent beneath the nurturing umbrella of Villa Academy. Do not hesitate to invest yourself in those same hours while you are still welcome in classrooms, in hallways, and on field trips. The years fly by faster than you can possibly fathom, and the opportunities to share in these special moments can never be reclaimed.

      I would give anything to go back to our son’s first day of kindergarten (nearly twelve years ago!) and start all over. I could relive the trips to the pumpkin farms, help grandparents find the classroom where their beloved grandson waited to introduce them, cut out all those letters for hallway displays, put together a gift basket for an annual auction, help a timid first grader fill her plate with her first “Villa lunch,” donate a book to the school library, sit in the “parent pews” at a school prayer service, brag about Villa to prospective parents at an Open House, apply costume makeup at a Halloween carnival, cheer for my son or daughter at a Saturday morning CYO game, and create a game of Jeopardy for a Spanish classroom (yes—we had categories such as, “Los Colores de Navidad” and “Las Personas Famosas”).

      But those are privileges no longer bestowed on me. All that is left is the opportunity to remind those of you who are blessed to return to Villa in the fall: Get involved while you still can! That proverbial clock ticks relentlessly! Never forget how incredibly privileged you are to be here— treasure every moment and make them count!

May God watch over Villa Academy! Long live the Vikings and the Blue and Gold!