Both my wife and children attend class as well. Jacob and Gavin (My sons) are in the Little Heroes program. Every time I watch their session, I am struck by two things. First, a room of four and five year old children is chaotic. Maintaining order is akin to filling a drinking glass with rainwater in a hurricane - possible, but very messy. Second, and most important, I am awestruck by the patience of their instructors. Every teacher exhibits an intense desire to work with each student, knowing that each child is driven by the need to be accepted and ultimately loved - no matter how chaotic the behavior.

The fact that my wife recently started attending class does not sound overly impressive. However, the amount of prodding I had to do to get her in the door made the simple action of her showing up to her first class a monumental victory. It was not a perceived lack of value that, initially, kept her away. The physical and mental rewards of class are readily apparent. What kept Dawn out of class were doubts that she could perform the actions she was in class. Moreover, even if she could perform the actions, would she be any good? In short, she suffered from the same hesitation many of us go through in our daily lives.

I have had the opportunity to attend a few classes with my wife. Regardless of the skill level of the people around her, she makes a genuine effort to perform all of the activities. She does this in spite of feeling self-consciousness in respect to her appearance and progress. What she has gained, aside from physical benefit, is joy from performing the action, regardless of your rank among your peers.

In speaking of courage and compassion, what I have learned was inspired by my family and can be quantified quite simply. Courage is working through fear to find joy; compassion is the ability to share that joy with others amid the chaos of our daily lives."

- Mike Nader

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