Post Spring Break

I won't lie, say it isn't hard to leave behind everyone you love, the warmth of heart, the smell of home, the familiarity of those who love you for who you are, not what you do. The return is never gentle, the plane slammed down onto the Entebbe runway with unnatural force, wheels screaming, "Wake up! This is now! This is your life!" Jet lag kept me in a zombie state for the past few days, but slowly the coma confusing past and present is fading and this reality is coming into focus. It is not perfect. It is not ideal. But it is what is. For this moment I am a teacher. I'm breathing into the role: looking for the ways it might ignite my imagination, trying not to take anything too personally, and working with the mind that resists and reaches into the future. There is nothing simple about this work, each moment brings new challenges, new triumphs and new mistakes. The line is hard to draw, especially in terms of discipline. When does exuberant enthusiasm become hyperactive distraction? The choices are endless, some succeed and some fail. I'm learning. For now, I will rest in the present, here in the computer lab with the fan blowing and the birds chirping and the sky growing grey with storm clouds as I write to all of you.