Worst Blogger Ever

First of all, I wanted to apologize for extremely poor blogging on my part. I have so little free time, and frankly, when I do have it, I'd rather just call you all.

Having said that, things here are good. Mostly good.

Teaching is absolutely exhausting. If any of you were well educated as a child, stop reading this right now and call your mother, father, teacher, older siblings and thank them for the hours of reading, teaching, rephrasing, demonstrating, and caring they poured into your life. It's hard for me to think of many things more emotionally draining than spending every day trying to explain the world to children.

It's also hard to think of many things more rewarding. Children are amazing. They're honest, open, sweet and full of energy. They almost always say exactly what they're thinking. They can tell you that you stink, while bear-hugging their face right into your armpit. Or they can say that your hair looks terrible, with a smile and a tone of admiration... Honesty without condemnation. (I wonder if that's what Jesus meant when he talked about having a child-like spirit?)

You don't have to prove yourself to a child, or worry about "making a good first impression". They just assume you're awesome until you do something to prove them wrong. And when they're excited, it's genuine joy and it's all over their faces. They can get so full of happy that their bodies can't contain it and they have to run around, jump, wiggle and squeal. (I would love to see adults adopt this kindof happiness. Can you even remember the last time you were that genuinely excited about anything?)

It's great. Even greater -- the kids at our school are having a talent show, and we got roped into performing in it, which leads me to the following confession:

Tomorrow, we'll be on stage, in front of dozens of parents, teachers and students, performing a team step routine. That's right... a step routine. I just wanted you to hear that from me. Now it's out there, and I await your taunting phone calls.