Dooley Noted: 2/11/2014
A man meets a woman. She’s 15. He’s 23.
They are told they will not last. They marry. They have three daughters.
He walks through blizzards with a broken-down truck to get to work so his family will be okay. She works full-time, too, as they raise three children. They don’t complain. They work and provide.
Their youngest daughter sees them. She’s always seen them, but it’s more laser focused now than in her confused, bratty youth.
They’ve been married 46 years.
He is my father James, and she is my mother Carolyn. And I’m their baby girl.
My Irish friend Robert told me the meaning of my Irish last name. Dooley means “Dark Hero.”
To me, that read like, “Unlikely Hero.”
My parents aren’t traditional heroes, like war heroes, policemen, or firemen. They are my unlikely heroes. Through their tough lives, they never made life seem tough. My house was full of its share of arguments and turmoil, always coming back to laughter, love, and support.
I am no hero, not even a dark or unlikely one.
But it’s in my blood and in my name to be an unlikely hero. So I will die trying to live up to my name.
If I can inspire others through teaching, I will do it.
If I can help people move or feel better, I will do it.
If I can help practitioners be an inkling better than they were yesterday, I will do it.
I will carry the legacy of my blood.
I will strive to be an unlikely hero: A Dooley.
Today, Dooley Noted goes out to all the unlikely heroes.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley