…reflecting on a roadtrip, graduation and a face rock by Stacey James McAdoo…
May is a bridge. It’s a season of “lasts” and “firsts”…endings that pull at the heart and beginnings that demand our courage. For me, the month carries a heavy, specific weight; it is the time of year I hold space for the loss of my brother, and only sibling, Craig.
During a recent roadtrip to Texas for our little cousin’s graduation, my daughter Jamee and I took a detour to WorldSprings to pause in the sauna, take a cold plunge and soak in the mineral spa pools.
While we were there, Jamee pulled a small, unassuming rock from the water…that looked like a face. According the Google it’s a “hag stone”…a stone with a natural hole that, based on folklore, grants the power to see more clearly and brings protection. The moment I held it, I didn’t see a rock; I felt the presence of Norel, and through him, the echo of Craig. It felt like a quiet, protective nod from the universe.
Just as I have come to understand that joy and grief can coexist, I have also learned that beauty often hides in the simplest of places, waiting for us to stop rushing long enough to notice.
So as May comes to a close, here’s to the end of a chapter, graduating to another, and the little treasures found along the way. May we always remember that even in the rush of life milestones and the quiet, persistent echoes of loss, there is always something small, solid, and wonderful waiting to be discovered.
We just have to slow down enough to look.
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Stacey McAdoo, the 2019 Arkansas Teacher of the Year, has dedicated over twenty years to advocating for traditionally underrepresented students and educators. Her relationship-based approach to education is featured in the award-winning Arkansas PBS docuseries Closing the Opportunity Gap and her specialized course, Coaching Self-Expression: Go-In Poet.
As the founder of the Writeous Poets (a spoken word and youth advocacy collective) and an expert professional development facilitator, Stacey designs transformative sessions centered on arts integration, equity, and empowerment. She currently serves as a professor at Reach University and the national Managing Director of Learning & Development for Teach Plus. Additionally, she is the host of the A Mile In My Shoes: The Walk & Talk Podcast and the founder of Still Standing: The Practice, a community for resilient women who, to the world’s astonishment and surprise, continue to stand and thrive despite life’s most unimaginable challenges.
Still Stacey 