The bricklayer worked steadily in the summer heat. Mortar. Brick. Scraper. Plane. Mortar. Brick. Scraper. Plane. It was painstaking and physically taxing work. If at the end of the day you asked what had been accomplished, the worker might say, “I laid bricks. Brick by brick by brick.”
Another laborer doing the same work might answer differently: “I built a wall today. One brick at a time. Brick by brick by brick.”
Ask a third worker and you might hear a different response: “I helped to build a cathedral that will soar into the heavens and be a place of peace and community for generations to come. This place will celebrate births. It will honor the lives of those who have passed. It will see many weddings. My part was to finish this wall. I did it one brick at a time. Brick by brick by brick.”
I hope the Loyal Readers of the Daily Dawg see themselves as the cathedral builders that they are. You are not just laying bricks out there. This crazy year has showed us the indispensable value of our public schools and of the people who make them work. There is nothing our society does that is more important than the transmission of knowledge, skills and values from one generation to the next. That’s what you are doing, day by day, student by student. Brick by brick by brick.
So congratulate yourself on making it to the end of 2020. Take a deep breath. Then let’s all go home for awhile. Let’s be with family and friends. Let’s rest. Let’s give thanks for all that we have survived.
The Daily Dawg will bark again on Monday, January 4th.
DAWG BONE: MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!