Learn.

I just finished the chapter I have been working on forever. And by forever I mean about three weeks. But in this process, that almost is forever. At that rate it would take me about 96 weeks to finish my rough draft (assuming I have the 32 chapters I am aiming for... one for each of my kids and one for me). So, yes, I need to get this show on the road. But you know what? I am glad this chapter took me three weeks. Because this was, by far, the most important chapter (at least in my mind) so far. This was not about cockroaches or funny anecdotes, or even about living in another culture. No, this was about the heart of a boy, and how that heart reached out, grabbed mine with both hands, and shook me awake.

See, I had up until this point in my story, both in the living it and the writing it, seen my students as the precious people they were/are. And I had enjoyed their company and learned to love them. But it was not until Rickonson swung that chair and Ronlok's head -- and the 24 hours that followed -- that I fully understood my role as their teacher. As a teacher. Although Ronlok received no more than a light tap on the head, thanks to her quick response to my scream across the classroom, it was I that received the wake-up blow to the heart. A teacher has so much to share with her students. She also has so much to learn.