Our deepest fear

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth...It has been a week since my last post and I guess the lack of motivation to update comes from the fact that we are in a bit of a routine now and the excitement for my activities and work has died down. However there are little things that happen throughout the week that are worth mentioning:
Tuesday:
For some reason, it was a particularly violent day and the kids would not stop hitting each other, for the smallest things! I was beginning to lose patience since it seemed that very little I said or did could stop them for hitting, so I brought out my biggest weapon: I said very seriously that if the hitting did not stop and if I did not see our stopping strategy (if you want to hit someone, give yourself a high five instead), there would be no coloring. Since this weapon is not used too often it is very effective and things calmed down a little. A few minutes later though, one of the girls, Diane, was pushed by a boy, Eddie, next to her and she gave him a good whack....but IMMEDIATELY afterwards she gasped and apologized to the Eddie and then looked at me and apologized. This was a truly golden moment! Not only did Eddie not hit back, for which he was dully praised, but Diane had recognized what she had done and had apologized! This has never happened before and I don't know if it will happen very often but it is a moment I will remember forever. Who knows, maybe we are making progress?
Wednesday:
I awoke in the usual morning daze and headed for the bathroom, only to step into an inch of water: the evacuation pipe for the washing machine had come out and had flooded the bathroom and the water was quickly headed for the computer. It is remarkable how fast the human body can wake up...I slid along the floor, grabbed a towel, and slid back just in time to create a barrier for the computer. It was pretty smooth! So Denissa and I spend an hour mopping and gliding around.

Thursday:
Bob made fudge and toffee!!!! The power of sugar in those moments of sadness or homesickness is remarkable and I think Bob recognizes it and would rather have three hyper girls in the house than three depressed moping girls. Bless his heart!


I want to share a quotation that a friend of mine shared with me when I was feeling down one day. It is one that I find particularly applicable to youth today, all around the world. I have always wondered: why is it uncool to get good grades at school? Why are youth so scared to show their talents? Why is it so bad to accept a compliment about one's good looks? Why must teenagers deprecate themselves? Why are we afraid of success? Why don't we give something our all and if we don't succeed accept it and recognize the value of our efforts? Anyway, this quotation gives great inspiration and might help resolve some of the questions above.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God - your playing small doesn't serve the world. There si nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." - Nelson Mandela
Think about it!