Say 'When'

Many of us have memories being kids seated at a snack table in kindergarten and a teacher, filling apple juice into each of our dixie cups, provided us the power to say 'when'. 
I posit many  -- not all of us -- because some of us simply have poor memories...and worse. Consider Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, and Tennessee Volunteers womens basketball coach Pat Summitt, who last year was diagnosed with having symptoms of dementia.

In Gabby Giffords case, she concluded yesterday that she needed more time to focus on her recovery, and that her constituents would be best served if she resigned from her job as Congresswoman. In Summitt's case, in 2011, she went public with her dementia diagnosis and decided to continue serving as head womens basketball coach at the University of Tennessee.

Being an effective representative in Congress takes considerable intellect and endurance. I support Giffords decision to resign her position and focus on her recovery. Being an effective basketball coach at the NCAA Division I level also takes considrable intellect and endurance. Had Pat Summitt decided to retire, I would have supported her decision. But Summitt decided that the final buzzer had not sounded for her. 

Some have argued that Pat Summitt should not be a head basketball coach -- that those who are head of anything need to be at the top of their game. Still, there are others that argue that the players on Summitt's team might be better people for learning about empathy and patience -- that a leader can still be effective at leading despite being be fallable and vulnerable, especially when supported by staff who can correct their misactions.

What fascinates me in both the cases of Giffords and Summitt, is that there were no 'powers that be' that forced them out. Gifford and Summitt each demonstrated that when you have accomplished much in the past, in some cases in our society, you earn the right to control your own destiny, health issue or not.

Scary? Inspiring? Perhaps both.