(Photo credits here)
Limoncello has been
one of my great discoveries this sembreak. It is Italian in origin, a beverage
made of lemon and other things, but not quite as sour as lemonade and
infinitely more refreshing. It is VEEEERY addictive! Apparently it is taken in
between or after meals, to cleanse the palate. But in my case I have no problem
downing it like a thirsty camel after trekking through the Sahara.
The sembreak is, I
suppose, like limoncello. A refreshing taste in between hearty, heavy doses of
Life. Come to think of it... limoncello is sweet and sour, like Life itself!
We become what we
do, I think. Some might disagree, but it can't be denied that one's profession
changes someone, either for the better or for the worse. Mine, I think, has
altered me so greatly that sometimes I need to pause and think about who I am,
without the apellation "Teacher" before my name.
I've come to that
advanced stage in life when the doors that remain open are not as many as the
ones that are closed, but now I think it's not necessarily a bad thing to have
less options open in life. It teaches one gratitude. Who is happier: the bird with
infinite directions to fly towards, or the rabbit with its single hole,
surrounded by its loved ones? If happiness be pleasure (which it isn't), then
you might think the bird is better off. But a multitude of options can paralyze
one into inaction, and the homely rabbit with its conviction and its clear cut
direction in life is to be envied.
I am turning into
that rabbit. I am becoming *gasp* a mature lady of a certain age, though I
certainly don't feel older! And yet I've
been described as having an old soul. I suppose the nature of my profession has
exposed me to several lives, to the point that I feel as if I've lived (albeit
vicariously) several of them. That's why I'm grateful to be surrounded by children
every day. Seeing the world through their eyes makes me realize how important
it is to NEVER lose our childish sense of wonder, of delighting in the
'shallow' things like toffee nut latte and rainy school days.
And another thing:
I've been granted the privilege of seeing how students I taught in the past
have turned out, after a year or so in college. It's humbling and immensely
gratifying… like seeing a report card in the flesh. And it just makes me
grateful for the twists and turns in my life, the unplanned as well as the
seemingly inconvenient ones, because they all make sense when you see that your
life's thread was entwined with another's for a purpose. And it is a beautiful
reminder of how the "chaos" in our life is actually all part of a
Master Plan.
The emptiness will
be filled up. The momentary sorrow and pain is from the soul forge, turning the
dross into gold. And if there is a twinge of sadness at the thought that the
sembreak is over far too soon, there is the comforting thought that we can only
appreciate the beautiful days if we experience the bad ones. And how lovely
that the "worst" days of my life are spent doing meaningful work, and
that toffee nut latte will be coming soon!
