Every day that we go to work, go to school, go to church, we may not realize that we are living extraordinary lives.

But small miracles surround us every day, from new lessons learned in the classroom to life lessons taught in a prison ministry.

That is part of the premise every year behind Profile, our annual look at the people and places that make up the Miss-Lou.

The project kicks off in our newspaper today, but we have been working behind the scenes on Profile for months.

Each day this week, beginning today, you’ll have a little something extra on your doorstep &045; a new section of Profile, whose theme this year is Watch Us Grow.

Today’s special section, about education, is titled &8220;Growing to Learn.&8221;

Stories throughout the week will show how we grow in faith, how we grow in learning, how we grow our small businesses. A story on the front page every day will give you a hint about what’s in the section inside.

Today’s front-page story and photos &045; about a dedicated pre-school teacher at Holy Family Catholic School &045; follows our theme as it shows how young minds are growing by leaps and bounds under the watchful eyes of a talented guide.

Then inside you’ll find a special section with a story about a Natchez artist who discovered she was meant for teaching, a woman who incorporates her love for art with daily lessons of reading, writing and arithmetic; a story about a Frazier Primary music teacher &045; with a beautiful voice herself &045; who encourages beautiful sounds from her young students, who are captivated by her every move in the classroom; and a story about an Adams County Christian School coach whose passion for history &045; and teaching &045; outweighs even what he does on the field or on the court.

During the rest of the week we will have sections on religion, commerce, leadership, recreation, healthcare, people and places and lagniappe &045; a little something extra for everybody.

We have stories from across the Miss-Lou &045; the daily life of a grocery store in Monterey; a Co-Lin instructor who recently relocated to Peru; a longtime labor and delivery nurse.

The stories you find in Profile aren’t necessarily the stories you might find in our newspaper every day.

Amid headlines about government meetings and crime stories, there isn’t always room for the everyday pleasures and everyday heroes we encounter in our community.

Take Tom and Ann Julia Hughes, for example. A story in Monday’s edition will talk about their prison ministry. For several years, they have quietly served God by working with prisoners in Mississippi and Louisiana, challenging the men there to walk the right path.

Stories such as these are about our friends, our families, our neighbors. They are the stories that make up the fabric of our unique community, which is growing and changing every day, and is often a miracle in itself.

Kerry Whipple

is editor of The Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3541 or by e-mail at kerry.whipple@ natchezdemocrat.com.