laundry, teaching, life

Is it just me, stop nodding your heads, or are you ever stopped in your tracks astounded at how the seemingly most random of things actually have something in common? Yeah, I was pretty sure there were others out there...

Laundry: the piles, while their size may fluctuate, are in a constant state of being. I have yet to find that there is no dirty laundry in the house after doing laundry...slightly annoying, but as you can see, I'm finding a way to live with it (okay, I'm still searching for a way to live with it).

Teaching: while a greatly satisfying endeavour, here too, there seems to never be an end to what needs to be done. If you are not planning something, you're teaching something, you're collecting something, you're marking something, you're handing something back and the cycle continues although it is rarely a smooth cycle. There are things being planned while you're teaching other things, you're marking one thing while collecting other things...where IS my desk? I'm sorry, there's a staff meeting today? Oh, I must have forgotten about that...

Life: is constantly unfolding, is constantly changing, is constantly living...

Today, as I looked through the piles on my desk for the fourth time, still not finding what I was looking for, a student comes in the door. It's quite common for students to drop by unannounced - honestly, it's one of the coolest parts of my job and I'm gonna miss it over the summer. She has a spare the same block as I do. Somehow during the day we came up with the crazy idea that tomorrow during our spares we are going to have a pancake breakfast, on china plates, with tea. We are each bringing something to the table for breakfast. Honestly, I'm more looking forward to what she didn't say she was bringing: herself, her ideas, her attitude, her joy, her story.

You see, I actually have a lot of marking and planning to do, that I would have liked to do during my spare first thing tomorrow morning, but when a 14 year old (okay she might be 15 now), grants you an audience, like laundry, the marking and business of life...well, it can just wait, take a number, have a seat, wait its turn.

I have packed the china I'm bringing to school tomorrow. I have a list of food items I need to remember. I will get up early so that I can make the pancake batter before I get to school (did I mention we're making the pancakes in my class in a grill I'm bringing to school?)

These moments, these empty calories are indeed what feeds the soul, what breathes life into old dry bones (read Ezekiel), what bridges the gaps between generations, what leaves a legacy. Textbooks are good for resting your feet on. Conversations are good for life.

I am going to have a well fed soul tomorrow as I spend time with a student who is willing, and dare I say wanting, to spend some time with me, her French teacher. I am blessed.

Here's another thought... we all have opportunities to experience this type of nourishment. We just need to take the time to comfortably say 'that paper work can wait a little while longer. the dishes will be there in an hours time. there will always be some laundry in the house, but right now, this person is important. Let's have some pancakes...on china...and giggle like we were in grade 9 again'

Bon appetit!