May They Continue To Win Their Battles

To The Editor:
For 10 years, I had the pleasure of working with some of the most amazing, strong, unique and kindest people I’ve ever met. They are living proof of the value of second chances. These are people whom society did, and still does, turn their backs on and turns their noses up at each and every day. Yet these people fight the good fight and continue to battle their demons.
I learned more from them then they will ever know. I learned patience on days when their hurts were so overpowering they had to yell at someone. I learned that empathy means we can never know what brought them to a certain point in their life. but they can be given the tools to make wiser choices, I learned just how important a smile can be to someone on any given day and the greatest lesson I learned, was that no one wants to feel judged by others.
I watched so many of them become proud, pro-ductive members of society and cried with many of them at the loss of some of our dearest. I’ve had the joy of holding their babies and watching them grow into the sweetest children (the Tootsie Pops helped that).
Each and every one of them brought more to my life than they will ever know, and will remain in my heart forever, and to say I will miss you, is an understatement, but I will just be “Ducky.” May they all continue to win their battles.
KATHY ROGERS
Villas