Gratitude : The Pause that Refreshes
Larry Lambert | Article and photos
Webster defines gratitude as a feeling of appreciation for a kindness or favour received . I believe that it is more than that . It is an attitude , a way of thinking and living .
My grandparents , parents , and siblings were my first introduction to gratitude — before I could put a name to it . We were a close , loving family . Gratitude came from that . I will never forget the many after-school tea-and-toasts with my very English grandmother , where we discussed everything on my mind and many things that weren ’ t . She taught me to appreciate our family , to look for the good , and not dwell on the bad . Gratitude is a choice — it is yours to make . Those words stayed with me throughout my career and will for the rest of my life . I am grateful for the opportunity to be taught skating and team skills by my father ( my coach ). In fact , I got my first teaching job because I could play hockey and was willing to coach . I am grateful that my principal was a patient and understanding man . He taught me more in that first year than I ever learned in college .
I also got my second job because I could play hockey , and I moved our family from Saskatchewan to Alberta . I then had a deep love of teaching and my fellow teachers . After six years , I realized that being an administrator was my calling , and I am grateful that my school board thought so too , as I was offered the position of vice principal ; a year later I became the principal of that K to 12 school .
Over the next thirty years , I had the opportunity to work with many , many wonderful teachers and was grateful to call them my friends . Oh sure , there were some headaches , but that is why analgesics were developed .
In 2009 , I heard about ARTA from Brian Scott ( now the president of the Calgary branch ) who invited me to a
branch meeting to see what I thought . At the next meeting , he said he was stepping down as president of NEARTA and I should consider running for the position . The rest , as they say , is history .
I had always been a strong ATA member , and ARTA was the next logical step . Being a member of the board of directors has allowed me to make many friends from all over the province . I am grateful for our dedicated staff , under the leadership of our executive director , whose sole purpose is to make lives better for retired professionals .
Gratitude is how I started this article and that is how I want to close . I am forever grateful for my wife Louise , who has been my support and partner for over sixty-two years . I am grateful for my four daughters and one son , and their families , who have made us proud every day .
In 1989 , our daughter Laurie was expecting her second child when the doctors discovered she had
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