My mother spreads joy wherever she goes. Right now she is probably writing an encouraging note to a friend, praising someone she has come across in the hallway, or reading the newspaper to someone in her retirement community.

Growing up, my mother thought about becoming a dancer, but she didn’t have the chance until retirement. Then she joined her first group, The Hot Flashes. Once she put on the tap shoes, “Dancing Grammy” was born.

There seems to be no end to her energy as she tap-dances her way into people’s hearts, bringing smiles to sad places. But this is nothing new for my mother.

Being a lifetime educator, she was recognized in 2015 as her school district’s Teacher of the Year. I remember her evening phone calls to her students’ homes when she took a break from grading papers. They weren’t the typical bad-news calls many parents would expect. Usually she was calling about something positive.