A Child’s Lunch Box

“In a child’s lunch box, a mother’s thoughts.” ~ Japanese Proverb

Initially my post was going to be about all the things I’ve been wanting to do, but am too busy to do, as I adjust to life with 2. Things that would normally get done sooner now take me double the time. I can no longer crochet a hat in a quick sitting; rather my yarn and needle sit idle and longingly look at me for a few days. Time escapes from me, just like water slips through fingers.

Lacking time, I didn’t have a moment earlier today to log on to Facebook or check the news, so when I got a text from my husband asking if I’d seen the news today, I wondered what was up. By profession, I am a teacher. Days go by when I don’t think about teaching or miss it much, but then other days go by when a certain teaching memory triggers a strong feeling of nostalgia, or I may walk by the stationary aisle in Target and get a whiff of the Back-to-School brand new products, and then I miss and crave teaching my 2nd graders. Hearing about the tragedy of children going to school today and getting shot at and killed is horrifying. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to send your child to school today and not realize that it’s the last time you’ll see them, the last time you’ll pack them lunch. It must have also been horrifying to be teaching at that school today, to feel so helpless. As a teacher, it’s our job to protect our students. Sure, we all go through the drills of what to do when an intruder comes to the school, or what to do when there’s a tornado, but when something like that actually truly happens, I’m not sure how I would react.

This incident touches people on so many levels, as teachers, as parents, as humans. It makes us stop and realize that even though we may be having a bad day, or if our child acts out, to just appreciate that they are there. My friend Aisha blogged about such a day today here and how hearing about this tragedy immediately changed her perspective of a bad day.

I’m keeping the photos up for what would have been my original post, but my captions are going to be different as I’m seeing them in a new light. I’m just grateful for everything below…

Grateful for Z and ordinary moments.
Grateful for lazy days in pajamas and outdoor banana breakfasts.
grateful for baby A

grateful for a toy-strewn house…

Sending prayers for those in pain…

“Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” – ( Quran 5:32.)