ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠAs part of Matt Cowdrey's recent funeral service, five young people spoke to an overflowing church about their dear friend and what he meant to them. All five were Matt's classmates from The Country School Class of 1999. All spoke with exceptional poise and depth and love. Then, under the leadership of another member of the Class of 1999, about fifteen or so of Matt's Country School classmates rose to sing the song the class had sung at their eighth grade graduation, “Time of Your Life.” These were extraordinarily poignant and riveting moments. Amidst all the sadness, I was so proud of these kids and how deeply, yet how naturally, they dug to be able to do what they did.
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠA parent who was there wrote to me saying, “In the tragic events of the past two weeks, some recent Country School graduates demonstrated some of the values that CS tries to instill in all of us, students and parents. I apologize if I am pointing out the obvious, however, I thought some members of the Class of 1999 showed great courage, compassion, and generosity of spirit in setting aside their grief… to share with a large community some very personal moments. Before these values were individually promoted each month, the faculty and staff integrated them into the CS philosophy so that they were there without the students even realizing it when the need arose.”
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠThe irony of the song's lyrics were sobering: “Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road/Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go/So make the best of this test, and don't ask why/It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time/It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right/I hope you had the time of your life.”
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠIn the face of such profound and sad events, the courage, dignity, and spirit of our young alumni help lift us up.