Alicia walked into my middle school art classroom 20 years ago and gifted me with this tiny stone. “I found it outside, Mrs. Weintraub, and I’m fairly certain that it’s a fossil. I knew you’d like to have it.” After gushing over it (not exaggerating) I told her how much I loved it and that I would keep it always. I then asked her to write her name on it. Her name is still there. I told her I would keep it always and whenever I looked at it, I would pray for her.

Fossils are interesting. By definition, they are the remains or impression of something preserved in petrified form. By implication, fossilized humans are resistant to change. I retired from the art classroom last year. Since then, one of my goals has been to avoid becoming a petrified fossil. I want to keep moving, keep creating, keep thinking, and remain open to new ideas and new ways I can leave a positive imprint. If I stop and start considering that what I have done for others is enough, or worse, stop moving because I’m petrified of change, the viability of everything I touch will become fossilized too. Fossils are evidence of a past life. Alicia is now a research scientist and a mommy. I hope she knows I still have the fossil and that I still pray for her when I look at it. But now it also reminds me to keep moving forward.