April 18, 2017. Madison, Mississippi. Josie.

Josie sends me two cards every year, one for Easter and one for Thanksgiving.    And she always takes the time to write a note.  Her card on Saturday was telling me how proud she was of her grandchildren, telling of graduations and college acceptances.    I was delighted to hear of their progress but I was especially proud of Josie and her children.

Many times when you look at a person you see only the dress and manor with no clue how difficult life had been for them.  We have all seen it.  A person who appears to be living a wonderful life when in reality, times are difficult.  Josie was a young woman living in a big house with four young children and her attorney husband.  Then her husband died.  Josie sold their big house and moved into a small rental and took a job as a receptionist.  She got the boys involved in scouting.  And she raised those children well.  They have all become responsible adults.  Josie deserves to be pleased with her grandchildren.  And I never heard a word of complaint from her.

Josie was of an age when she could retire.  When I pressed to ask why she was continuing to work, I was told that when she first was eligible for Social Security,  she received her cheques and deposited them in the back.  Several years later, she was told that she was being overpaid and she needed to pay back the extra money, so she worked out an arrangement whereby she could pay back the government a bit each month.   Although she was old enough to retire, she needed a pay cheque.  I shut my mouth about having her retired.  Again she said nothing about her difficulties.  She just did her duty.

Our committee at the office wanted to buy a fancy coffee machine.  I objected because the machine needed high maintenance.  Josie heard and assured me that the machine would be properly cleaned.  Every morning she was early to work and for the rest of her working days, that coffee machine never broke down, thanks to Josie.  Her hours were from 8 to 4, but most days she was at work by 7, getting the office ready for the day, removing cups from the conference rooms and of course, attending to the coffee machines.  Hats off to Josie who alway kept a positive attitude.  Life was not easy for Josie but you would have never known.