She is a Warrior

My school's mascot is "The Warrior." We refer to all our students and staff as "warriors."  It is empowering, and it brings us together to rise above not only the day-to-day grind, but also the larger-than-life moments we all experience as a clan.

This weekend, we lost one of our strongest.

On my old blog I wrote a few posts about my co-worker, Mrs. O.  I started teaching at my school in the fall of '09, and Mrs. O was hired the following September.  Although she was old enough to be my mother, she and I became quite friendly.  That friendship only became stronger when Mrs. O's niece,who I now refer to as my work BFF, was hired that February.  The three of us spent many afternoons hanging out in their classroom sharing our funny or frustrating stories of the day over some much needed chocolate.

Mrs. O became an art teacher much later in life- it was her second career, and it was obviously what she was meant to do.  She taught Crafts and Sculpture, and got her students to really understand not only how to create interesting works of art, but why we make art in the first place.  She was passionate and always looking for new, exciting ideas to share with her kids.  She held her students to a high standard, both academically and behaviorally, and they respected her for it.

All of us lady art teachers would have lunch together, and each week one of us was responsible for the "dessert."  Mrs. O was a big fan of the small dove chocolate hearts, the ones with the inspirational messages in the tinfoil wrapping.  When it was her turn to bring in "dessert", that was her trademark choice, and we all looked forward to it.

In December of last year, Mrs. O was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.  It came on suddenly, out of no where, and at the end of an already trying year for her.  From the beginning, she, the doctors, and all of us at school had nothing but high hopes for a speedy and full recovery, and for a while, things looked like they would end up just that way.  And then things changed.  She fought hard every day over the last 9 months, but yesterday the fight ended.

Some might say she lost her battle, but I say she won.  She earned her wings, and she left the leukemia far, far behind her.  She's in a better place now, where she is free from pain, and doesn't have to fight anymore.  We may have lost her, but she didn't lose.  Warriors always win.