Benchmark

I'm sporting this lapel-pin on my sport coat these days. The pin is about the size of of a Chicklet®. I found it while rummaging through my top bureau drawer. It's from my fifth grade year at Cherry Road Elementary School when I was named to the Safety Patrol by the kids in my class. We arrived at school before everyone else and escorted students across the four intersections around our school.

It was a big deal at the time. Upon reflection, I think it remains a big deal for me.

It was the first time I realized my classmates thought I was responsible, maybe even a leader. Soon after, I became an acolyte in our church, the senior patrol leader in our Boy Scout troop, and the-man-of-the-house when my Dad was stationed out-of-state.

I'm wearing it to remind myself of those days and of that expectation of trust and leadership; and that I have an implicit obligation/opportunity to lead rather than follow.