It’s amazing how a person is here one day and the next there is an empty hole in your life. Almost 8 years ago, I lost my dad to stage 4 pancreatic and colon cancer. Yesterday morning, I lost my father in law to stage 4 colon cancer among other problems. From the onset of his diagnosis, it was 6 weeks. We know that death will happen.
When I found out hospice was called in, I explained to my students of my potential upcoming absences due to a death in the family. Despite how my students act in class, they are aware of how upset I’d be if they misbehaved while I was gone. I thought a lot about how we misinterpret our students from being the “class clown” to “the lazy one” to even “the one who causes trouble.” But what we don’t see is who they are. One of my students usually socializes in class, rarely listens, and will violate class rules. But recently, he is still paying attention. He is still taking notes. He is still passing my class.
These two circumstances continue to make me think about life. How we spend it and what we do with it. The news media, the ignorance in the world. Many are consistently hurting others mentally, emotionally, and even physically. Life is too short to be to let others run your life. You never know how long we will live or what our lives will become.
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