I rescued a few branches of ivy from the wall where they had spent the winter playing dead. A warm pot, a sunny windowsill, a few days of quiet attention — and from those brittle sticks, something green pushed through. Alive. I felt bad keeping them inside, so I moved them to the balcony to […]
Not generating your own light doesn’t mean you cannot shine. Some of the brightest objects in the night sky produce no light of their own. They simply receive it, and reflect it, and the darkness is less dark for it. I am no one remarkable. I am as caught up in the troubles of this
Y’s father arrived at the center with Y in tow, chest puffed, wearing the expression of a man who has been wronged and intends to set the record straight. The story came out quickly. Y had brought home an addition and subtraction worksheet from class. One of the problems was 31 minus 14, and Y
Two or three pairs of eyes find each other across the room and begin to sparkle. One hand goes up. Can I use the bathroom? The hands around it go up. Can I use the bathroom? Can I get some water? The rest of the hands go up. Can I get some water? Why bladders synchronize the moment
The Question I Can’t Answer Read More »
As my wife was heading out the gate, Merim ran up behind her and wrapped both arms around her. It wasn’t quite a thank-you. It was closer to I love you — or maybe don’t go. This was the same girl who used to hover at the doorway when we first met, too shy to do more than
I stepped outside and found a scrape along the corner of my car bumper. Tucked under the windshield wiper was a folded piece of paper — an apology and a phone number, written by hand. My first reaction was irritation. My second was genuine surprise. Around here, cars wear their damage openly. Scraped panels, crumpled bumpers,
I looked around the room before class and took stock: mostly girls, second through fourth grade. They fell into two rough camps — those who knew a fair bit of the alphabet, and those who knew almost none of it. My wife’s students hadn’t arrived yet, so I tried to send the younger ones, the
They Just Like Hanging Out with Nurlan Baike Read More »
On their way home from school, a group of third-grade girls crossed our path and stopped to say hello. It occurred to me that if you were ranking the world’s most heartwarming greeters, third-grade girls would take the gold without contest. They fold themselves into a hug so completely and so naturally — it gets
Today in class, I sang to the children. A song called A Vow of Love. They all propped their chins in their hands and listened as though the world had stopped. (Believe that if you like.) When I told them I’d bring my guitar tomorrow, they erupted. Truth be told — I was more excited than
