Friday Reflection

How amazing. It's Friday again!

Nothing unusual or particularly memorable has happened this week, except perhaps for an insightful time reflecting on the subject of death anxiety in Irvin D. Yalom's book Staring At The Sun, a compelling book on a taboo subject.

I've completed 3 of my 30 hours of volunteer work at school and it's been amazing.

On Mon, I attended the Parents & Friends Association meeting and learnt of all the good work P&F has done to fundraise for good causes in the past year, like buying new instruments for the Music Dept.

On Tue, I did reading with Beth's class during the first period and afterwards lunchtime Yard Duty.

The first kid at play I met was...Beth! She was quietly digging outside the sandpit and was so thrilled to see me - even if she'd just seen me hours earlier. Her huge smile of welcome and shout of "MOM!" made an otherwise inefficient morning (I'm always coming and going from the house!) worth it.

I made so many friends during my one hour in the playground: the Yard Duty teacher, a fellow mom, Beth's classmates, Beth's former classmates, brand new Preppies cautiously exploring their new play area...

One lovely little girl announced that she wanted to follow me around.

I was also able to use my bilingual skills for a good cause when some kids came to tell me about their friend who had hurt himself and was crying and couldn't speak English. The boy in question is new to the school and the country and it was beautiful to see how hard the children tried to comfort and reassure him even though he probably couldn't understand a word they said. I think he was relieved to be able to talk to someone who understood his language, because he started sobbing out his tale. I was glad to get him back on his feet and back in the circle of play before the bell went.

It feels so good to be part of this community of children at their most natural, lively and authentic. There is something about hanging out with kids that balances my adult dysfunctionalities and default mode of behaving.