Appearances

Stomach grumbling, Ella found a beautiful blue shirt and her nicest black pants to wear to church.  She carefully pulled on her clothes, noticing that they were starting to hang on her body.  Frustrated, she found the only belt she had in her closet and put it through the loops on her pants.  She had just bought new pants one month ago.  There was no way she could afford to buy another pair.  Plus, last time she went to the Goodwill store, some of the people gave her funny looks.  She supposed that she may have been dressed a little too nicely, having just come from work.  Refocusing her thoughts, she walked to the mirror to fix her hair.  She carefully ran the brush through her hair to pull out all the tangles. Her face was beginning to get thin again, the circles under her eyes getting darker. After fixing her hair, she put on make up to cover up the dark circles and to add color.  Picking up her keys and her Bible, she walked out to her car and drove to church. She couldn't wait for the sweet cake or pastry that her Sunday School teacher always brought.

After Sunday School, Ella's best friend in the class exclaimed, "I love your blue shirt, Ella.  Have you lost weight? You're looking pretty good."
Cringing, hoping nobody noticed, Ella smiled, "Thank you! This is my favorite shirt.  And, yes, I have lost weight."
Interrupting their conversation, Bill asked, "Are you two going to join us for lunch? We're going to go to the Mexican place down the street."
"No, thank you," Ella replied.  Trying to find an excuse not to go, she said, "I have some things to take care of at home before I go back to work tomorrow."  She picked up her keys and her Bible, she walked out the door, as soon as she was sure she wouldn't be missed.

Finally home, after what seemed like forever, Ella immediately took a look at her kitchen cabinet.  She saw a few cans of soup and vegetables.  She didn't really want any of that right now, but she was so hungry.  She could hear and feel her stomach rumbling.  That small piece of apple turnover she had in Sunday School was quickly beginning to wear off. She grabbed a can of chicken soup, poured it in the bowl and popped it in the microwave.  She couldn't wait to go to work tomorrow, so she could finally eat more than one meal.

Daycare

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by my job and what I'm going to have to do to follow the policies for the company I work for.  I've been in training for the past few days and it felt like all I was hearing was, "You must do.." or, "You must never do...".   I want to let every person know this: even though I will be working for a daycare company, I AM a teacher.  It may not be recognized by other companies or apartments, as far as being able to get a discount.  To say that someone who works in a daycare setting is not a teacher is absolutely wrong.  From infants to pre-K to after school programs, the staff that work at daycare centers influences every child's way of thinking about learning, about their peers, and about themselves.  So I guess this is my tribute to daycare teachers everywhere.  We don't get the same respect and influence that public school teachers have, and they don't get all that much either. We teach at the daycare centers because we love our kids.  We love working with the younger children and seeing them grow in many ways that teachers in public schools will never get to see.  We see the very beginnings of language development, math development, and social development.  No amount of money will be able to make up for that.  That's why we, or at least I, will take a job that pays very little monetarily but that pays a lot in the joy of children.  Over the summer, I worked with a group of four year olds.  While I was playing football with a few of the boys, they began to talk about what they wanted to be when they grow up:
Boy 1: When I grow up, I'm going to be a football player, and a basketball player, and a soccer player.
Boy 2: When I grow up, I'm going to be an astronaut.
Me: When I grow up, I want to be a teacher.
Boy 2: (smiles) No! You're already a teacher.
That's when I realized that even though I don't work for a public school, I AM a teacher.  The children see me as a teacher and that's what counts.  I don't work there for me or my bosses, but for the kids. The words I say, the environment I set up, and the lessons I plan will impact these children for the beginning of their public school careers, if not their lifetime.

Sadness

Eyes burning
Nose running
Holding back the tears

Mind racing
Salt water forming
A creek begins to flow
Down the bridge of the nose

Eyes burning
Nose running
Still trying to
Hold back the tears

Brain running
Without sleeping
A pool forms
On the pillow
From the tears

Eyes burning
Nose running
No longer
Holding back the tears

Morning comes
Thoughts flowing
People coming
Make-up covering
The red and swelling face

Eyes burning
Face hurting
Hiding all the tears

Feel Free to Leave

"You can learn the language and accept our beliefs or get out."  At least that's the summary of an email sent to my mom while we were on vacation in Texas, in regard to the Australian Prime Minister.  Not sure how to interpret the email, whether it was serious or a hoax, meant to be accepted by my family or appalled.  (I have recently read a few articles online that say it is a hoax.) I decided to express my disgust at what was said in this email. My family was taken aback and actually agreed with what she said.  I was immediately shot down and didn't feel like I could argue with my elders, especially my grandpa.   I now want to voice why this shocks me:

1) In this email, they describe Australia as a Christian nation.  They say that it was founded by Christians.  That may be so, but it started out as a prison colony for the British.

2) If Australia is a Christian nation, they would not target hate toward a single people group, that is, the Muslims.  Please don't interpret this the wrong way.  I do not think that Islam is the path to God.  However, I do know that as Christians, we are to love the Muslims and accept who they are as people.  We should not tell them to leave, just because they don't accept our beliefs.  It will only turn them away from Christianity, not bring them to it.

3) As people in the United States, in general, we expect the people around the world to know English.  Even when we go to other countries, we expect the people to speak English and understand us.  We do not want to learn the language of other people when we go abroad.  Is it not hypocritical, then to expect other people to know our language when they come here?

My difference in my opinions from my family may come from my educational background and my exposure to many cultures throughout high school, college, and student teaching.  I know that I was not raised to hate other people and tell them to leave because they don't speak my language or believe exactly the same things I do.  I was honestly shocked that my family agreed to what the email said.  I increasingly become frustrated with many Americans' views toward immigrants, simply because they do not know the language or have the same culture.  People are people, no matter what language they speak or which culture they came from.

Gone

She sat in silence on her lonely bed, looking over and over again at the text messages on her phone.  So many say, "I'm sorry," or, "Let me know if you need anything." A single tear rolled down her face as she scrolled down to the one she wanted to read. "I love you," said the message cheerfully, "I can't wait to be home with you again."   Her eyes became swollen and red as she tried to hold back the tears.  She closed her eyes, trying to get the voice out of her head, "I'm so sorry ma'am." A sudden stream poured out of her eyes. Unwilling and unable to move, she used her bed sheet to wipe her eyes and nose. She doubled over, her head touching her knees.  A knock on the door brought her back to reality. She quickly wiped off her face, hoping her sadness wouldn't show. "Come in, baby," she called to her son.  "Mommy, when is Daddy going to be home from his trip? I miss him a lot." She tried to hold back the hot tears as she squeezed his shoulders between her arms. "I miss him, too, baby.  I miss him too."