Superhero Day
Each year, Mindy Riibe does an outstanding job of leading a recognition of the crew from Taher in what is called Superhero Day. The ladies get a certificate and small token of Mindy’s appreciation for their hard work and dedication to feeding our kids. The ladies wear their capes throughout their workday in front of the kids and it is a day to help put the spotlight on them for their efforts. This year was totally different. They were not able to be in the spotlight of our kids. They were not ever able to have their work recognized in front of the staff. This year, they have continued doing their job behind the scenes.
Just a little while ago, Mindy gave the lunch ladies their certificates and gifts. They were fed lunch and were able to socialize a little bit with each other. Their conversation topics were a true testament to their dedication. Rather than talking about world issues, their families, or other things going on around them, they talked about their jobs and the kids. And to make it even more apparent of their dedication, they work on Sundays now. The Red Oak Community School District serves breakfasts and lunches on Mondays and Thursdays. This means they come in on Sundays to prepare meals. And no one was complaining. I shared with them that we all owe them a huge thank you because when the “world around us” has been shutting down and many businesses are closed due to COVID-19, they continue to work. They are making sure our kids are eating. When there is nothing routine about our lives right now, they have changed their schedules and their own routines to prepare meals. And they did it with very little notice. Mindy and the Taher crew have demonstrated an extremely flexible attitude to make sure kids of all ages have breakfast and lunch for every weekday.
If you ever get the chance, please make sure you let them know we appreciate them. We depend on them every day of the school year, and we now depend on them in a whole different way. So, when they do their job without anyone witnessing it in these times, we must make a point to tell them “thank you.”