Our rival school and their town have had a rough fall. A high school student committed suicide about a month ago. Last week, a six year old was run over crossing the street on her walk home from school. Her siblings were there to witness her death. And now a young mother from their town was run over and killed in St. Louis, crossing the street. She leaves a devastated husband and four young children. (I think the youngest is just one.) It almost seems impossible that this community would deal with so many heartaches at the same time. We might be rivals, but our families know their families, our students know their students, and being only 12 miles apart, we are all truly one community.
Their tragedy opens our eyes.
And so I am thankful for things I take for granted daily:
floors to sweep and furniture to dust
Mr. Baxter who needs his daily walk
a good Dr.'s report for the Mr. (no need to return for a year)
sleepovers with the Bug, even if she does steal the covers
kissing chubby cheeks
piles of leaves to sweep off the steps
phone calls and face time calls from Big City
papers to grade (did I really say that???)
reliable transportation
and a comfortable bed
I'm even grateful for those grass pinwheel "things" that have invaded our yard, helped along by strong winds. (OK. I'm taking that one back. I still hate them.)
"Tragedy is like strong acid....it dissolves away all but the very gold of truth." D.H. Lawrence
November. Know what's important.
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