There’s a story rolling around the internet these days about a High School teacher who started a class project of telling each student how they had impacted her life.  She then gave each of them 4 blue ribbons with gold letters reading “Who I Am Makes A Difference.”  The students were instructed to keep one of the ribbons and to tell one other person how they had impacted their life and to give them the remaining ribbons with the instructions to pay it forward (do the same for someone else.)

One student gave his extra three ribbons to a junior executive in a nearby company who had helped him with his career planning.  The executive in turn gave his two extra ribbons to his boss, who was a very difficult man to work for, but the executive recognized his intelligence as a businessman and told him of the positive influence he’d had, calling him a “creative genius.

The business owner was moved by the experience and decided, since he had’t had much time with his teenage son recently, to give his extra ribbon to his son.  He told his son that he realizes how busy he’s been and that he’s been treating his son like an employee, never seeming to be satisfied with his performance.  He said he just wanted to take a moment to honor his son and tell him how much he matters.

The son broke down and wept.  The father, not understanding, asked what was the problem and the son told him he didn’t think anyone cared about him.  He then went to his bedroom and brought out a suicide note and a gun.  He handed them to his father and said he had planned to use the gun that night “…but now I don’t think I’ll be needing them.”

Now it was the father’s turn to break down.

The business owner was never the same again.  He began treating everyone with respect and made it a point to honor his employees and his family, and to let them know how much they matter to him.

Now, we’re passing these blue ribbons on to you.

Have an awesome day, Temecula…and if you are in any kind of housing distress, just be aware that it doesn’t say anything about you.  You are awesome no matter what.