We Love Miss Cole

There are those who make a tremendous difference in the world in quiet, unassuming steadfastness.  Sometimes I am most inspired by their example.

 I was going to write about a human rights champion whose career inspires me so much that it intimidates me.  It felt like I needed to highlight a different kind of amazing woman today, though.

Nichole was my first real friend in Michigan.  I credit her with being the first person to take a chance on me in our mutual circle.  She had friends around her and I don't know that she really needed a new one.  I did desperately.  Mine were all long distance, my husband was gone most nights, and I was spending a lot of time with one very adorable but exhausting toddler.  It is a lovely thing to reach out and be a friend.

Our friendship grew and she became the person I knew I could count on for anything. She was always there, always gracious, always listening, always giving.  She and I started the Tuesday morning coffee group, and it is her table that became a haven. Nichole is a haven.  When you get to know her, you want to stay in her presence. She is the gravitational pull in the group, the one who grounds it and keeps it together.  Nichole is the first one to show up with a meal on your doorstep when you're sick, the first one to call when you haven't been around in awhile.  We all have "the time when Nichole rescued me" stories.

Nichole is the picture of how a person can make a tremendous difference in roles that aren't in the spotlight.  The mothers who depend on her for childcare know they have found a rare treasure in this woman who believes that caring for children is every bit as important as any high-powered, high profile career.  Her little friends love "Miss Cole."  She is a dedicated mother who has made sacrifices to provide what she feels are the best education options for her son.  She never forgets that children are people, and that we are fortunate to be able to be a part of their precious lives.  She supports causes that  protect childhood.  She lent me a book called Too Small To Ignore that opened my eyes to how as a society we have relegated our children to the margins.

Nichole is super humble and I hope I haven't put her in an uncomfortable position by writing this.  I sincerely feel that every now and then we need to be inspired to be content and dependable, present in the lives we live and to the people we love.