Naked and Afraid

The other night I fell asleep with my TV on in my bedroom. I woke up around 3am and on the TV was the strangest show ever- Naked and Afraid.  What?!?!  For those who do not know this show, the premise is two people-a man and a woman- are dumped in the middle of a dangerous deserted place usually in South Africa, Asia, or Africa. The couple, who until the moment they are dumped, have never met and they are stranded naked with only a map and one survival item. They are challenged to survive 21 days in the “wild” naked and afraid. The couple must find water, make shelter, and search for food.

I found this couple very intriguing. The couple on this episode had had it hard. They were dealing with very little food over the 20 days and the area that they were surviving in was terribly rainy and cold.  They were so encouraging of each other. The final night they were unable to get warm. The rains were terrible, the wind chill was 42 degrees, and they couldn’t get their fire to stay lit or keep them warm. The woman wanted to “tap out”. The man did nothing but build her up all night. He held her to keep her warm and he continually gave her words of strength. He refused to let her quit. She was so grateful the next day that she had not quit.

That next morning, they had to make it to their “extraction” point. This couple who had lost 20 and 30 pounds in 20 days were struggling to hike the 5 miles mostly up hill to their extraction where a jeep was awaiting them. At one point the man looked at the lady and said, “You have got to dig deep. You have got to give it all you have even if you don’t think you have anything left.” And she did. It was hard, but they were able to hike 5 miles, go across a dangerous river, and then find the road where the jeep awaited them. But they did. They made it. 

I just couldn’t stop thinking about that… dig deep and give everything you have.   Last Friday I received a call at school from a former student.  She is one I’ll never forget. She had lost her mother when she was in third grade. I remember being at her house the day after her mom died holding her as she cried. She was just pitiful. She was so worried about important days without her Mom. I’ve kept in touch with her and every mother’s day I get in touch with her. Her father called me when she started her period in sixth grade. She called me when she kissed her first boyfriend. She was having her prom at Dorman and he was worried about getting ready without her Mom. She had friends offer to come to her house, but she wanted to get ready at her house-but she didn’t want to do it without her Mom.  So last Saturday I woke up super early, I wrote thank you notes for literally six straight hours-and I cannot tell you how painful writing sympathy thank you notes can be-emotionally and physically. But I remembered that it wasn’t about me and I remembered that I had to dig deep and give it all I had….and I went to this student’s house. I brought make up and curling irons. I helped her get ready for her junior prom. I ran to Rack Room when her shoes didn’t look right with her dress. I watched her excitement when the doorbell rang. I took pictures of her and her date.

I did this because it is what this student needed. I was tired. I was hurting. But I dug deep. I found something extra for someone else that I didn’t think I had. While I don’t think that our work at schools are really anything like the show Naked and Afraid, but it is the time of year when we have to dig deep and give the extra effort and give it all we have. Our kids deserve it.