Volume 136: Rest in Bailey

 

A couple of weeks ago, I texted Eddie to ask, "Did Bailey bite you as a camper?"

She responded, "No but she pushed me to the ground and pretended to almost stomp on me."

Back in the day, when we had our staff meeting in between session, they would call out the cabins that had a P Staff/Nurse kid in them and the counselors had to stand up and cheer...

There we were, in the Small Gym, and Eddie was called because she had Debbie Priddy's daughter in HER cabin!!!! God speed, Eddie...Godddd speeeddd. Pressure was on!!!

However, despite a few pranks pulled and aggressiveness shown in team comp, Eddie and her co's quickly learned that Bailey was much more than just a permanent staff members kid in their cabin. She was fun and confident in herself, wise in her faith, and loyal to her people. 

As the years passed, I have been thankful for the chance to get to know Bailey for myself, not just through stories from Eddie on our time off. We got to visit her in Chattanooga - see Baylor and go to Moon River together! She came to visit UGA! Despite breaking the rules and bringing her to Younglife leadership and two hours of sitting in a car trying to convince her to choose correctly, she decided to go to Texas... 

But at least, I still got to see her at camp in the summers! I watched her serve with such humility on J Staff - always doing even more than she was asked to do. 

And then the next summer, I watched her become the kind of counselor she would have loved to have! That summer, she was given the Rookie Counselor of the year award! Giving back to a place that had been such an important part of her life.

And thennn the greatest of all gifts... we became COWORKERS!

And there's been no greater gift. 

Bailey is unbelievable - hard work ethic, selfless, humble, proactive, and never complains. All rooted in a huge heart. 

She's the kind of person who takes on responsibilities that are not hers. One day, Gene radioed for Emily, who was leading a meeting. My name was immediately next after Emily didn't respond within Gene's 10 second patient wait time... He told me there was a group swimming at the river. As I was saying the words, "yes sir," Bailey immediately stood up, saying "So I need to go down to the river and tell them to leave?" 

How do you think this is now your responsibility??? She went with me and led the charge, the first to walk down the path and break the news to the IS's and lake crew laughing and splashing that they needed to get out of the river. 

Or the time she took the initiative to look at my to do list after orientation and literally took it upon herself to go to True Value to make copies of the keys for the HR Hubs... without even asking for any directions or what needed to be done...

She's the kind of person who steps up to help. One day, as I was checking in some Support Staff, walking them through all their paperwork, Bailey stood off in the corner, just watching. I didn't think anything of it, just assuming she was waiting to ask me a question or needing to do a task in the Hub. Yet, later that night, another support staff had arrived, and before I even knew it, Bailey had met with them in the hub and completed all paperwork... without asking any questions or asking for help...

Why didn't you tell me he had come down? I could have done it! She took initiative and just does whatever she can to help others. 

She's the kind of person who never sits back to let others do the work. Even though her office is in the Summit and she has many other responsibilities, she would often be found sitting on the bench in the HR office, working with her laptop on her lap. While she could have just sat there to work and be around such great company, she was the first to jump up whenever someone came to the door... stopping whatever she was doing, to help. She rushed to the door, closing it behind her, not letting them bother me and Emily. 

That's literally my job... why does she protect us? She is willing and able and invites interruptions! 

She's the kind of person who is compassionate and listens. There were some moments when she was in our office, and we got to witness her work on her OFA responsibilities, which mainly consisted of phone calls. On each and every phone call, she is kind and caring, asking questions and listening intently to what they have to say. She cares and makes every person feel heard. 

How does she have such patience in the afternoon here at camp? She takes her work seriously and manages her time so responsibly. 

I literally couldn't survive without Bailey.... (and don't know how I will). She has done SO MUCH for me and never expects anything in return....

The only thing I have ever done for her is share with her some of my green grapes and a couple hours later... she texted me to THANK ME FOR THE GRAPES!!!! The literal SMALLEST things I could ever do to repay her....

So like I said... Bailey is unbelievable...

Reliable. Always does what she says she will do.

Excellent. Does everything well, paying attention to detail. The one time she made a mistake on days off this summer, she couldn't stop trying to figure out where she could have gone wrong...

Proactive. She never sits back and waits to do something. She does it right there and then. 

Before returning to the "other side" to work on her actual work... Bailey always asks Emily and I if we need anything... 

And in those moments, as she heads out our door to the land of the Summit that seems so far away, we would sigh, not wanting her to leave our presence...

Yet, now off she goes to a land even further away than the Summit office, and Bailey... we do need something... we need you!!! 

We are so grateful for EVERYTHING you have done for us. The small things and the big. 

But even more than the monotonous tasks here at camp, I am grateful for your friendship and the ways you have helped me to grow.  You live a lot like Jesus - humbly leading by example, not words.