A timely story

“Getting back into the workforce after two decades of raising a family made me feel like a fish out of water. As I sat in a local realtor’s office, waiting for my interview, I began chatting with a mom sitting across from me who had noticed I seemed on edge. I explained I was interviewing for an assistant position and was a bundle of nerves. Just then, her little girl, who seemed about 6, whispered something in her ear. As her mom nodded, she picked up the book on her lap.

“‘The Little Engine That Could,’ the little girl began reading aloud.

“The more she read, the better I felt, and when she reached the last page, we both chanted, ‘I think I can, I think I can!’ just as I was called in. “‘Hope you get it,’ her mom said.

“Looking at her daughter, I said, ‘Thanks to you, I think I can!’”

—Jane Sinclair, 61, St. Paul, MN