A Special Relationship

Rebecca and the Quilt: Lessons Learned

Meet Rebecca Rother of Wheaton, MD. Rebecca is a 17 year old high school senior, president of her Student Government Association at Kennedy High School in Maryland. Her intuition and insight about people and relationships has guided her to be a leader, and as she plans for college, her goal is to study Organizational Leadership. Was she always this way? Not at all. She tells the story of being in second grade and being too shy to want the photographer to take her picture for class photos. What brought about the changes?? For Rebecca it is her personal traits of watching and learning as well as persistence and determination that have been at the forefront of her growth. She blossomed when she entered high school in the Leadership Training Institute track. There she has had teachers who guided her and she has taken charge in some projects that were "perfect" for her strengths. Encouragement from her parents has also played a role in this growth as a unique individual.

Rebecca is my niece. OK, so I am a proud "Auntie M" and rightly so. This weekend we spent three days "hanging out" in NJ. Rebecca brought her quilt to work on. We didn't know all about doing this, but had some ideas. We made bunches of mistakes and worked to figure out other options. We learned that persistence and determination count. We also knew that neither of us was responsible for the mistakes but we "goofed" together and figured out things together. It was a wonderful example of love, forgiveness and teamwork!! This morning Rebecca sent an email that her motivation continued after she got home and the quilt is just about finished! YEAH for determination. We affirm Rebecca for that characteristic!!

We also visited Longwood Gardens in Kennet Square, PA to "welcome Spring" in their conservatory and indoor greenhouses. Rebecca took over 200 pictures of the flowers so beautifully displayed, and I took a picture of her in the Children's Garden!