The Ordinary

 Quite impulsively, I tore the wrapper and the inner foil lining, snapped a few rectangular pieces of chocolate and casually, but expertly aimed for my mouth. Once I began chewing, my tongue and the roof of my mouth was assaulted by pop rock candies that had nowhere to go, but to bounce up and down and crackle inside my mouth. This, a product of Israel, certified by a rabbi as Kosher, satisfied my cravings.  Those cravings that I must have had, but never acknowledged before I savagely attacked the bar in the first place. In five minutes flat, I devoured two servings, while actively discounting the events of my day as unworthy subjects for writing.

Tonight my son and I were talking over dinner about E.B. White and his brilliance.  White was able to translate his life on his homestead in Brooklin, Maine into something pretty extraordinary as he wrote.  Ordinarily, a city dweller, E.B. viewed his country life with fresh eyes. Everything was new and exciting.

Thinking about my day, those I came in contact with and their unique perspectives of our world helped me to view my life with gratitude.  Early this morning, a former student skipped down the hall, stopped her motion abruptly and asked, “When are you going to read with me again?” The first grader who asked to have extra work packed in his bag for the weekend is not afraid of risks and hard work.  His face must ache from all the smiling.  He is so happy to be reading.

Everyday can be new and exciting whether you are a famous author, a young reader or middle-aged female teacher who is a reader and writer.  We are in charge of how we spend our time and how we view the world.  We wonder and we write so as not to forget the extraordinary nature of the ordinary.