Doing the Best We Can

This morning when I was walking from my bus to the office, I was coming down a particularly steep hill. Half way down a man on crutches and only one leg came whizzing by me. His empty pant leg was flapping in the breeze as he made his way down the hill. I caught up to him at the traffic light and said “You really negotiate hills well”. He turned to me and smiled, his crutches were now resting on his shoulders and he was balancing on one leg, and he replied “I’m just doing the best I can” The light turned green and he continued, leaving me in the dust. It was interesting to see how people reacted as he went by him. People watched him until he turned the corner. I felt I could read their thoughts. If I was reading them correctly, they were thinking “Wow, would you look at him!”

In this time of the Olympics when we are seeing young people from all countries “do the best they can”, its good to remember all the unheralded folks out there, parents, grandparents, caregivers and all those little kids who may be watching the Olympics and thinking that someday they will be standing on that podium because they did the best that they could.

So to all of you out there, thank you for doing the best that you can.


Jeanne Anderson