“Desperaux had a sudden, chilling thought: Had some other mouse eaten the words that spoke the truth? Did the knight and the fair maiden really not live happily ever after?
Reader, do you believe that there is such a thing as happily ever after? Or, like Despereaux, have you, too, begun to question the possibility of happy endings?”
From “The Tale of Desperaux” Kate DiCamillo
Our happy ending can be kind of hard to believe in.
On the one hand, there are all sorts of light afflictions. The police station is close to us, but that is not necessarily a good thing. It makes our area a suicide bomb target. Also, we know that well trained security guards are trained to raise their weapons when a uniformed police officer approaches – men in police uniforms perform all sorts of nefarious deeds, and the “good guys” understand that they should not approach uninvited. Police proximity does not equal security. We trust in God alone.
On the other hand, there is a feeling that we have already entered into that happy-ever-after ending. All the dragons (light afflictions) in the world do not mitigate against it; indeed, they only add sparkle and wonder. We thank God from the heart for every day we wake up into. Our every interaction with the community is infused with potentially historic meaning. The moments we can steal to be alone are particularly precious. It would be sweet to think that this is the end. In fact, we are not the end but the beginning. If only it ends like this, too!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Typical Day
Frozen morning. Time to get out of bed. But the electricity went off at about 3:00, so the room is cool. Getting dressed, singing that I don’t believe in cold. Breakfast together, home made oat flakes (better and cheaper than cereal), protein powder, tea. Overnight guest still rolling around on the couch. Hamroz starts the fire. We’re rolling!
Frozen classroom. Light up the classroom heaters, turn on the computer, check the e-mail. Write the principal. Go to the High School building and pick up materials for the science demonstration. Kids piling into the warm classroom, five minutes early. Grammar review!! Have a contest to find all the compound whatevers. Graphing equations. The weird measurements you can take while boiling water!
Frozen lunch duty. But it’s warm enough to eat outside. We played basketball for the last 15 minutes. It was starting to warm up! I played with my hands in my pockets after my team went up 3-0. We won 3-2, when the clock graciously ran out.
Remembering everything can be a small problem; remembered to get the change from the coal the chokedur bought for us (now we should have enough heat to last the winter), remembered to get the money we will need for the next few weeks, remembered to get the washer that we need to fix our vacuum cleaner. Now back to class. Cup of coffee, end of the day parent conference, and it’s four o’clock. Time to begin the day! I forgot to get my passport back from the office, and forgot one of the messages for my wife. Nobody is perfect.
Not everyone we were expecting showed up, so there was a chance to catch up on the house chores. Our lone guest was content to watch, “McGee and Me” clips while I brought water from the well into our upstairs bathroom. Since I've not been out running lately, I had the energy to bring a substantial ammount of water in. I’ve put aside my memory project to read (as I do every year) the bible from cover to cover. This year it’s a slow challenge – the first year reading in my new language. The English version is on hot standby whenever there is a comprehension issue. Good cold night in a warm room for reading and McGee.
Frozen classroom. Light up the classroom heaters, turn on the computer, check the e-mail. Write the principal. Go to the High School building and pick up materials for the science demonstration. Kids piling into the warm classroom, five minutes early. Grammar review!! Have a contest to find all the compound whatevers. Graphing equations. The weird measurements you can take while boiling water!
Frozen lunch duty. But it’s warm enough to eat outside. We played basketball for the last 15 minutes. It was starting to warm up! I played with my hands in my pockets after my team went up 3-0. We won 3-2, when the clock graciously ran out.
Remembering everything can be a small problem; remembered to get the change from the coal the chokedur bought for us (now we should have enough heat to last the winter), remembered to get the money we will need for the next few weeks, remembered to get the washer that we need to fix our vacuum cleaner. Now back to class. Cup of coffee, end of the day parent conference, and it’s four o’clock. Time to begin the day! I forgot to get my passport back from the office, and forgot one of the messages for my wife. Nobody is perfect.
Not everyone we were expecting showed up, so there was a chance to catch up on the house chores. Our lone guest was content to watch, “McGee and Me” clips while I brought water from the well into our upstairs bathroom. Since I've not been out running lately, I had the energy to bring a substantial ammount of water in. I’ve put aside my memory project to read (as I do every year) the bible from cover to cover. This year it’s a slow challenge – the first year reading in my new language. The English version is on hot standby whenever there is a comprehension issue. Good cold night in a warm room for reading and McGee.
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