Everything's Relative

        I was driving home from school last week and I encountered a situation I very seldom, if ever, have dealt with.  I was approaching the stop sign one quarter mile from my house and there, to my surprise, was a lot of traffic.  There were two cars behind me, two cars at the stop sign facing me, and we had to wait for six cars before we could go through the intersection.  A traffic jam!  I had never before seen my intersection so busy.  Ten cars!  Urban sprawl was happening just down the road from where I lived.
        And then I had to laugh.  My friends from larger urban areas would call that a peaceful commute home.  Two hundred cars would be a gift, let alone ten.  As my mind wandered, as it so easily does, I started thinking about other things that are merely relative depending upon your situation.
       So many people in our country think they are so poor and yet most people in a third world country would gladly change places with anyone in our lowest economic class.  A dinner out in the burg costing a couple more than $50 would be a splurge, but a drop in the bucket to someone else.  And in the country, a neighbor closer than one mile away is encroachment while those in an inner city apartment couldn't even imagine the space.
       As I ponder these situations it makes me realize even more that no matter how bad or dire or good our situation is, we must always remember that things are relative.  I guess I've never had it so good.

First Day Jitters

Every year about this time I get the same feeling........What will happen tomorrow?  It's the first day of another school year and as I glance at the clock, I am imagining that most of my students, hopefully, will be putting on jammies, brushing teeth, hearing a goodnight story (I wish) and jumping into bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads.  Little do they know that their teacher feels the same way (and I would be delighted to have someone read me a goodnight story!)

As teachers, we always have wishes.  As I was pondering today about the upcoming year, my wish would be that the students are just as excited to come to school in the middle of January, or any other month this year, as they are tomorrow morning when they walk into class.  Clean slate, no prejudgements, anything can happen, dreams can be met, obstacles overcome.  I hope I instill in them an attitude that promises they won't be judged by what they can't do, only by what they attempt and how hard they try.  But I hope they give me the same leeway.

I'm excited, nervous, overwhelmed, among many other feelings.  And I've been doing this for 25 years.  I get my 27 new students for 174 days.  Oh, if I could only make a difference in one of their lives!  I know that I will learn much more from them than they will ever learn from me.