This poem is dedicated to anyone – teacher or mentor, parent or grandparent, friend or stranger – who has gone the extra mile for someone else. Alone, without cheers or compensation.
Just to help.

The Extra Mile

I will walk the extra mile,
Laden with heavy pack;
Too tired to run
Too weary to hum,
Too wise to turn back.

I will walk the extra mile,
My burdens not my only;
Far into the night
Far beyond others’ sight,
Far too alone, yet not lonely.

I will walk the extra mile,
Troubled not by fears raised;
Under no heroic illusion
Under no saintly delusion,
Under no desires for faint praise.

I will walk the extra mile,
Quietly, to see you through;
To give what I can
To help where I am,
To simply believe in you.

I will walk the extra mile,
Past my final sunset and dawn;
As a teacher and a guide
As a friend by your side,
As a memory, long after I am gone.

— Eric Winger

Today’s gift of time … Appreciating the In-Betweeners Day 2 – Sent a note of appreciation to one of my son’s teachers who goes the extra mile for his students again and again.