Day 2 of gratitude challenge: 1. I am grateful to have grown up in an extraordinary family, with parents who served as fantastic mentors, teaching me that a human being could be imperfect but still be a great parent, but that a parent must be patient, ultimately kind-hearted, and believe in their kids enough to pay attention, but to let their children learn from their own mistakes- to not bail them out from every metaphorical skinned knee, but to be there when their kids really needed them; a family with extraordinary siblings Rosie, Mike, Frank, Rich and Bob, who continue to serve as inspirations by reflecting the great values we absorbed from our parents in the ordinary gestures that combine to make up the life of a decent human being. 2. I am grateful for the legions of students through the years and the roster of phenomenal coworkers that make a life in education so fulfilling; for the constant rebirth provided by the continual cycling of unique but somehow familiar students, imperfect but committed to striving, through this wonderful school that so many of us have dedicated large chunks of our life to create, and recreate, and recreate each and every year. 3. I am grateful for the musty smell of earth under the cool autumnal lightstands as I still manage to crouch into position before every pitch at second base, transformed beyond time, space and bodily pain to lurch towards any batted ball that dares come my way, and for the amazing fact, that at 56, with very little natural capacity for athletic endeavor, more often than I dare hope for, my swings of the bat result in the satisfying crack of a clean base hit, and I get that clear, serene sense of complete satisfaction with the world as I sprint towards the next base, as free as any child on any playground anyplace on this good Earth.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:33:34 +0000
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