Anne, Joanne & Regina: Best Friends Forever!

February is Heart Month at The Worthy Educator, honoring those special colleagues who make a difference in our lives and careers, celebrating how longterm, loyal, caring, nurturing, professional friendships enhance our experience as professionals!

Joanne Kerekes pays tribute to Regina Barbely and Anne Barringer:

I have known Regina Barbely and Anne Barringer for more than 30 years. As an administrator, I needed a village to govern my schools and district, and there was no one who was more critical to this than the administrative assistants who helped me keep a steady hand-on-helm in waters both choppy and calm. I first met Regina and Anne as parents of students in schools where I served as principal. So, I had the pleasure and privilege of coming to know them first through their children. As we became colleagues and worked side-by-side, friendships took root - and we carry these forward into our lives today. Having so much shared history, our friendships have been honed by time like fine wines - balanced, unique, harmonious, and with depth and complexity.

As I reflect on the enduring relationship that Regina, Anne and I have shared, memories come flooding back — the professional mingling with the personal. Over our years of working together, not only did we become important to one another, but our families did also. They became our “families of the heart.” We rejoiced at weddings, celebrated milestones, welcomed babies, bid farewell to pets, and stood nearby — intentionally in the shadows — as we each experienced grief and loss.

Nearly three years ago, I lost my beloved mother at age 96. Given a very large family and wide circle of friends, there were a great many who came to pay tribute to her. In the midst of all this, I began to feel personally unmoored. A little lost and shaky. Right then, I looked up to see Regina, Anne and another dear colleague, Marcia, standing there. It made perfect sense to me that those who assisted me and stood by my side during almost everything I did professionally, were there to support me personally — and exactly at the moment when I was searching for a source of solace and stability. As soon as I saw them, I smiled knowingly and leaned into their caring and empathic embrace. I felt my body steady and my mind calm. They remained with me throughout the night — seated just off to the side. I took comfort simply in their presence — unwavering and unconditional.

On that evening, an oft-cited quote came to mind: “True friends are those who lift you up…when no one else has noticed that you have fallen.”

There is no one story that can capture our shared relationship. It’s more like a long string of adventures. Throughout time, Regina was the one who always brought detail, advance thinking, skillful planning, and depth of organization to whatever it was that I was doing. She was like Radar in "Mash" - she knew what I needed before I knew I needed it. She was absolutely indispensable. Anne was the one who always kept me grounded. I was forever making grand plans, and Anne would remind me of my humanness and my capacity. Without her, I would have literally spun out of control. She was not afraid to reel me - in the nicest of ways - and center me. Together, we were a trio to be reckoned with! In time, we became part of one another’s personal and professional “shadow teams” - waiting in the wings, just offstage, and ever-ready to step in as needed. How lucky have I been to have that kind of support, comfort, safety, understanding, kinship, and dedication.

When we gather together now, it’s as if time has never passed. We pick up our conversations from where we last left off. We take joy in our grandchildren’s antics and in news of our children. We talk with the kind of fondness about our past that can only come when you have shared lived experiences. Oh the secrets we hold, the stories we tell, and the laughter that surrounds us! I truly love, appreciate, and honor Regina and Anne. They are forever friends.

Joanne Kerekes

A Worthy Educator

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See our entire celebration of #edufriends and share your tribute to a special colleague or group of peers here so that we can honor you and them!