People love to say, “People come into your life for a reason,” which is one of those sayings that usually belongs on a decorative pillow at HomeGoods. And then sometimes it’s actually true. Marybeth came into my life in 2013 when she hired me at the Center for Early Education in Los Angeles. I was very far from home, trying to convince everyone, including myself, that I was a person who could just casually move to California. Then I walked into MB’s office. There was a Boston Red Sox gnome on her desk. Obviously, I assumed she had placed it there specifically for me. She had not. But between that little piece of home and her warm, welcoming way, there was something about her that immediately made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I thought I was moving to Los Angeles for a job. I had no idea I was walking into a friendship, a family, and a second home that would change the course of my life. Because that is what Marybeth does. She makes people feel like they belong. MB, Ben, Lucy, and Archie are some of the most genuinely generous people I know. They show up. They make room. They love people well. Their table somehow always has another chair, and their lives always seem to have space for one more person who needs them. Years later, I closed the door to MB’s office to tell her I had decided to move back to Boston, and she told me they were moving back too. I remember feeling this enormous sense of relief that going home didn’t also have to mean saying goodbye to them, too. Through different schools, different jobs, different coasts, children growing up, and all the strange turns a life takes, MB has remained one of my people. She is an extraordinary wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. And she is, without question, one of the most intuitive educators and gifted leaders I have ever known. Being led by her changed me. She saw things in me before I saw them in myself. She pushed me to grow professionally and personally in ways I didn’t know I was capable of, and so much of the teacher and leader I have become has her fingerprints all over it. She is a master of her craft. If MB has taught your child, you're lucky. If you have worked with her, you are lucky. If you have been led by her, you are lucky. If you have ever attended one of her faculty meetings, you may also remember that she decorated them with Ryan Gosling “Hey Girl” memes. (Because apparently transformational leadership sometimes looks like deep pedagogical expertise, emotional intelligence, and a picture of Ryan Gosling telling exhausted teachers they’re doing a great job. And honestly, that tracks.) MB has always understood something important: people need to feel seen. They need to laugh. They need to know someone believes in them. They need someone who can sit beside them when life is hard and somehow make the room feel a little lighter. And now, unbelievably, it is our turn to do that for her. Because breast cancer came for Marybeth, which feels, frankly, like a fairly significant error in judgment on breast cancer’s part. It picked the woman who has spent her entire life building communities around people. So now there is a community standing around her. And it is enormous. MB has met this chapter exactly as you would expect her to: with courage, humor, honesty, hope, and that unmistakable light that has made so many of us feel at home in her presence. So this year, I’m walking in the Susan G. Komen MORE THAN PINK Walk for her. I’m walking for MB. For Ben. For Lucy. For Archie. For her mom. For every child who is a little more confident because she once looked at them and made them believe they could do something hard. For every teacher who became better because she believed in them. For every person she has welcomed to her table. For every person she has shown up for. And for every single one of us who sees MARYBETH light up our phone and smiles before we even answer. Because people really do come into your life for a reason. Sometimes, if you are extraordinarily lucky, one of them walks into your life and quietly changes the whole thing. MB did that for me. Now I get to walk for her. If you are able to donate, thank you. Every dollar supports the fight against breast cancer and the people and families living through it right now. And if you know and love Marybeth, then you already know why I’m doing this. This one is for you, MB. I would walk a whole lot farther for you. 💗