Worth the Wait

Posted by Nicki Peasley Share Your Voice

One of my heroes lives next door.  She doesn’t have any super powers (other than the strongest capacity to love I’ve ever encountered) and she doesn’t wear a cape (and if she did, it would have baby spit up on it), but she radiates a quiet courage that is absolutely spellbinding.  My hero’s name is Heather Handy Hayes.

Heather has a speech impediment.  And the letter sound she is most challenged by is “H.” (I’ll give you a second to let the cruel irony sink in).  When I first met Heather, it took her a half a minute to say, “Hi, I’m Heather Handy Hayes.”  I fell in love with her immediately.

You might think that my friend would have chosen a profession in which she didn’t have to talk.  Nope.  Heather is a high school English teacher. She is inspired by words.  And she is passionate about sharing her love for language and literature with her students. Truly, she is a rare and gifted educator.

The other day, Heather was sharing a funny classroom story in which she had to discipline a spirited young man.  As she recounted her words to him, I was amazed by the fluidity of her speech.  “Girl,” I said, “you are definitely at your best in righteous teacher mode!” To which she responded, “You should hear me yell at my husband.” 

Later, I thought about Heather standing up in front of her students.  How lucky are those young people to witness such courageous leadership everyday!  And not just because of her speech difficulty--Heather’s empowering presence creates space for others to shine.   She doesn’t’ even have to say the words for her students to hear, “You can be anything you want to be.”

Heather is one of those rare friends to whom I can confide anything.  When I come to her in dry heaving mode before a public speaking event, she just smiles.  You see, Heather thrives in the public speaking domain, making frequent presentations for different non-profits she supports.  Once, when I questioned her about her fearlessness, she shared her father’s words to her as a little girl.

“Heather,” he would say in his finest southern gentleman’s drawl, “if people can’t wait for you to put your words together, then they aren’t worth talking to.”

Mr. Handy knew that his daughter was worth the wait. And now, so does the rest of the world.

Happy Birthday, sweet friend….

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Nicki Peasley I am the CEO of my home, managing a team consisting of a 40 year old, an 11 year old, an 8 year old, and a 6 year old. In my spare time, I am the YOUth development director for Bounce, writing curriculums and working (playing and learning) with elementary and middle school youth.