Memories.

Although I have been seriously planning/thinking/tossing around ideas for the past month, today was Day 1 of Being Serious About It. (Summer school papers took all my creative energy so far this summer.) Like I teach my kids everyday in class: you need to know what you are going to write about. And what a better way to remind myself than sit down and read any blogs/emails I have from that time? I just spent about three hours going through tons of written primary sources from me, some edited as they were sent to the masses, some raw -- feelings just sent out one friend to another in an email.

Wow.

I had in my head this picture of what Ebeye was to me: a hard to live-in place that was made bearable by the beautiful children I taught and the wonderful friends I had. And although these blogs/emails/etc. comfirmed that, they also showed me a few more realities than I remember: the feelings, the absolute struggle, the emotional roller coaster ride. I teared up a time or two as these words popped off the page and forced a feeling associated with them to come to light again. I cried when I read about one student who came to my house in the middle of the night with his little sisters because his home situation was not safe for him and I laughed out loud as I read of an encounter in the post office that, well... let's just say that it wasn't funny at the time, but somehow time and distance can turn the most annoying thing into something hilarious. Memories that had long lost their flavor became fresh again.

Mostly, though, I felt the huge support that I received over there. I saved all of the emails people sent me while I was there. So many wonderful friends sent me words of encouragement and kept me in their prayers and, yes, even encouraged me to write these memories down in a book. It is because of that support that I was able to enjoy my time there, and also brought me to this moment today.

Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable. ~Francis Bacon