My VP of Sunshine

If you have ever served on a PTA Board, you know the most coveted position on the Board is called, "Sunshine."  Seriously! There is actually a Board position where your sole purpose in life is to spread Sunshine!  What a happy-sounding job, right?  You might as well be called the Vice President of Rainbows and Warm Fuzzies and Candy-Coated Unicorns! As Sammy Davis Jr. once pondered, 
♫ "Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew, cover it in choc'late and a miracle or two?"♫  Well, lemme tell you, the Chairman of Sunshine can!  I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or an unspoken pre-requisite, but on every PTA board on which I have served, the holder of  the Sunshine position is also very petite, well-coiffed, fashionable, perky and pleasant (and darn it....we like her anyway!).  As I'm typing this, it dawns on me that the reason I have never been chosen to be in charge of Sunshine might be because lazy and snarky (my new favorite word) are not the typical traits found in this candidate.  Anyway....as we try to solicit new members for our PTA Board each year, the question that would have to be #1 on our FAQ list (if we were that organized) would be "Is Sunshine taken?"  It's the dream job.  All of the glory......minimal work (which pretty much makes it the most desirable position on the Board).


If you are lucky enough to be selected for the Sunshine position, you will spread cheer throughout the year by sending cards to all PTA or faculty members who experience major life events (have a baby, lose a loved one, etc....).  One of the most important things you will do is to open each of our monthly Board meetings with a Thought For the Day. (Well, actually, according to Robert's Rules of Order, which your local PTA follows as if God himself handed them down on a tablet beside a burning bush, our President must first declare the meeting open and THEN it's all about the Sunshine and her highly anticipated Thought for the Day!)   I picture our sweet Miss Sunshine the night before the meeting, sitting in front of her computer in her yoga pants with a Starbucks on the table, perusing the Internet and looking for just the right words to inspire her fellow Board members.  Tough job, right?


Once the passage is selected, Miss Sunshine will stand before the PTA Board to open the meeting and will say something like, "The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."  Then, she pauses dramatically for this to sink in for a moment and then takes her seat to a chorus of, "Wow, so true!"   "I love that!"  "Thanks for sharing!"  And then our Coordinator of Sunshine takes her seat among the other Board members.  Beside her is the new mom we suckered into running the carnival and the other mom we coerced into running the cookie dough fundraiser.  All they can do is dream of the day when they have paid their dues and are offered the prestigious Sunshine position.


My life is obviously not as well-run as our local PTA Board, and anything resembling "Rules of Order" went out the window a long time ago, but I am lucky enough to have my very own VP of Sunshine!  How cool is that?  My best friend, Lisa, has been in charge of spreading sunshine in my life for as long as I can remember.  We didn't initially choose each other as friends. Our 19-year-old sons picked each other when they were barely 2 years old and in preschool together, and our friendship developed as a result of theirs.  


Lisa has been so much a part of all of the big moments in my life for the past 16 years.  She is the absolute BEST at putting the "special" into special occasions.  I remember the time when Max went off to China for 3 weeks and we came home from picking him up at the airport and she had decorated our gate with signs and balloons to welcome him home (which WE all totally took credit for because WE should have thought to do that!)  I can't even remember how many trips I have taken where Lisa tricks me into telling her where I am staying (ostensibly, to be able to reach me in case of an emergency) when, what she really had planned, was to send a bottle of wine or some sort of sweet treat like milk and cookies to my hotel room.  There have been cards and gifts for no reasons, plenty of emails with the perfect "Thought For The Day" which have been timely and much-needed and there is absolutely no bad mood or heartbreak that can't be cured by one of her home-delivered, home-made cheesecakes!  Lisa has gone completely out of her way more times than I can count to pick up or drop off my kids at one of their functions, while allowing me to perpetuate the illusion that I am doing it all on my own!


But, just as it was for our sweet little PTA Sunshine Coordinator, this position she has eased into in my life did not come easily.  There have been times when she has had the tougher job of managing the carnival my life can be.  She has had to "speak the truth" to me more times than I would like to remember and she is not afraid to tell me all of the things that I sometimes don't want to hear.  There was the time I called her with news that I was considering reconciling with someone who was obviously so wrong for me. Within the hour, I peeked out my window to  the formidable sight of Lisa and Betsy marching up to my door with an air about them that I can only equate to A Tale of Two Cities', Madame Defarge and The Vengeance's march on the Bastille.  


The smartest thing I have done in the past few years is to move back into my old neighborhood, which puts me about 4 doors down from Lisa and her family.  It really makes it easier on them too (aren't I thoughtful?).  She only has to come halfway down the block now to deliver her cheesecakes and other baked goodies ( ♫ because Miss McNeely makes....everything she bakes...satisfying and delicious....♫)  And, when I call Kelly, her husband, about an emergency home repair, it's now much more convenient for him to get here quickly!  An example of how this relationship works so well for all of us is evident in this text message exchange I had with Lisa just yesterday - I am relaying word-for-word.
Me: Ask K if he got my message about outlet cover?  I fixed it so I don't need him to pick one up for me after all.
Lisa: Yes. He did. He says sorry he didn't text you back. He said his feelings are hurt because he isn't needed any longer.
Me:  Haha - If it makes him feel any better, my garbage disposal just quit working.
Lisa: He said, "Yes!", with a fist pump!


And so that's how it goes.  I am blessed by my VP of Sunshine every day and so thankful that she is in my life.  I love her two kids like they were my very own and I treasure the friendship with both Lisa and Kelly.   I am constantly in awe of my dear friend and all that she does. She is a wonderful mother and a devoted wife, she has gone back to school to finish her degree, she works, she serves on two PTA boards AND, she takes care of me (which is no small task, let me just tell you!)  I am going to stop just short of saying that she is the Wind Beneath My Wings because that would just be corny, but you get the picture.


I know she is reading this blog post, because she also just happens to be my biggest supporter.  She, more than anyone, has nagged encouraged me to write and she stays on top of me to keep plugging away at it.  So, Lisa, thank you.....for EVERYTHING!  And, if you will take it, I would like to give you an honorary Life Membership as my VP of Sunshine!  Love you!