Learning, Living, Loving

It's hard to believe that midterm is already upon us, marked by grades being due increased stress and fatigue. Matt's first papers are due this week (two in two days). The air is getting cooler and snow fell yesterday. It's October and we are officially settled into the school year.

This weekend marked our first real trip home to Iowa since we moved back in late July/early August, I am sorry that we did not get to see many of you and we are making plans already for our next trip when we will see many more friends and family. It was a refreshing and renewing weekend. Home cooking. Time spent with both sets of parents. A crazy movie with Dad. Church and shrimp with Grandpa and family and of course a bit of driving to a fro.

It is wonderful to share about our new life in Chicago with friends and family back home. I am humbled and honored by the interest and care that our friends and family take in our new adventure but sometimes it is also difficult to put into words. Its hard to remember that my reality is now different from that of many of my friends and family and to be able to put into wordss and paint a picture of what I hold so dear.

When I'm asked "Your kids are 'inner city' right..." I don't know how to answer, because although my head says yes, my heart says no they are: Manuel, Bre'Sha, Richard, they are my kids not a label. When I talk about security guards and students wearing IDs in the hall I'm afraid that my listener sees a picture of an unwelcoming dangerous place, not a learning community that is a family striving to thrive in our environment. When I'm frustrated I hesitate to share because I want you to hear the joys not just the struggles. I want you to know the joy I have to go to school each day and be able to be with my kids. When we drove back to Chicago today we were coming home.

A dear friend of ours came to visit us a couple of weeks back and we were talking and they were wrestling with some life issues and what is their next step and they asked the question "What business do I have moving to a place like Pilsen (the neighborhood I teach in)?" and I have really been wrestling with that question since it was asked. Why am I here? What is my role as a caucasian teacher in a Latino neighborhood and a predominantly Latino school? Why am I here? and I continue to land at: We are here to learn, we are here to give our very best and we are here here because right now this is where God's got us.