Back to being 8 Do you remember the last time you had pink eye? For me, it seems like when I was about 8 years old. Somewhere in elementary school, I'm sure. You remember the goop you had to put in your eye that made your vision all blurry? Well, here's my story: I have been incredibly ill the last few days, with a cough the likes of which I can't remember having since, again, elementary school. I kept telling myself that I should go to the doctor, and hearing "gentle nudges" of the same sentiment from my mother, but I kept telling myself that in a couple of days I would kick it and it would have been a waste of time off work and other social duties. Well, last night as I was going to bed, I noticed that my eye was a little scratchy and, well, let's just be honest: boogery. I thought that I had gotten a piece of fuzz or something stuck in it, and sort-of complained to my dad. His reaction I was not expecting. "I bet you have pink eye," he casually replied. Not wanting to believe such a thing, I blew him off. Until this morning. This morning I awoke to a right eye very, very pink and practically swollen, not to mention sealed shut. Yep. I looked like I had either been crying all night (only just out of my right eye), or had gotten punched right in the socket, so I figured something was up. Reluctantly I called the doctor (well, my mom actually did as I went back to bed...) and made an appointment. The first thing the nurse practitioner said when she walked in the room was, "Man, honey, do you look altogether miserable!" Yep. It showed : ). She took out her little snooper, scoper thingy and looked in my ears, all the while chatting about what she was and was not finding. "Looks good here," she said as she inspected my canals. Then she stuck the thing up my right nostril. "Looks ok here." Then she moved to my left. "WHOAH! This one's NOT OK!" Slightly more curious about what she was finding, she instructed me to open my mouth. "Say aaaaah. That's good. Now let me just look in here....WHOAH, HONEY! You've got SPOTS in there!!! Girl, you've got strep!" "Figures," was my reply. "Why not add it to the list?" So, at the end of the appointment I left with two slips of paper: one for eye drops to battle the increasing puffy/gooeyness in both of my eyes, and the other for the strongest kick-butt antibiotics to get rid of whatever sort of breeding bacteria was causing spots on my throat, an incessant cough, and the reaction "Whoah!" when she looked up my left nostril. So, I ended up being quarantined to my room for 2 days. No work, no Bible study, no social outings. I can't remember the last time this happened (and no, Japan does not count, because they freak out when your nose drips.) I seriously think I was probably 8 years old. Although I'll enjoy the mandatory rest, I certainly hope my immune system kicks it up a notch, or we're going to have a looooong. winter!

First, an update on my life....I took another job last week. Believe it or not, this is something (I think) I am excited for. I'll start working at Sylvan Learning Center, an after-school tutoring program, next week. I'm a little nervous, but more excited than anything. The hours are from 4-8 PM Monday through Thursday (I won't be working all of those, but it's nice to know that I can't work anything outside of those hours, because that means a very nice weekend!). They want to train me in their writing, study skills, beginning reading, and lower-level math programs. I'm seriously pumped about this. Though the atmosphere was less than energetic when I went in for an interview (quiet as a church might be more accurate), the "vision" behind the place seems really in line with what I've come to believe about education. The focus is really on increasing the kids' self esteem, focusing more on their effort than on grades. I think the Japanese education system totally put a seed of that type of thinking in me. As much as I fought it at first, the longer I was there, I think the more it shaped my views of how a child should learn. Anyway, I'll let you all know how it goes...maybe after I settle in since I tend to hate things for at least a month after I start them : ). On another note, I was thinking about something that struck me last night. My dad and I went on our first Daddy-Daughter Date since Christmas last night. It was a lot of fun - Olive Garden food (yum, yum, yum), a glass of wine, smoothies back at home, and then a movie. I generally watch more films than my dad (if this wasn't the case, I'd be worried ; ), so I wanted to pick something he'd enjoy, even if I'd already seen it. I got into my video collection and pulled out two that he hadn't seen yet: I am Sam and Hotel Rwanda. As we were debating over which film to watch, I was surprised by the internal struggle that actually began in me over those choices. Here we had two great movies: A film about keeping your child-like view of the world - unhindered love and compassion for people, even in the face of adversity and hardship. On the other hand: A call to international awareness and action, highlighting the attrocities that happen in our world because of people's lack of it. I was torn. On the one hand, I just wanted to watch a feel-good movie. Something that made me want to love people more. On the other hand, I, seriously, felt guilty for not wanting to watch a film that showed so graphically the sufferings of others. So I ask: Which is better? To keep your child-like view of the world, openly loving and trusting others, or to view it more realistically (perhaps), constantly updating oneself on the hardships that others face in order to offer a measure of help to someone somewhere? Seriously, I ask myself: How should we live? I find myself, after almost three months of working so closely with small, light-hearted children (some children, due to their circumstances have not the chance to be so lighthearted), desiring to become more like these kids. P.J. trusts almost anybody. He willingly offers himself to people, desiring simply to make them smile. He showers me with affection: kisses, hugs, "I love you's" and "I'm so happy you're here's". I want to approach the world like that. But, on the other hand, I can't ignore what I've seen and known, either, having traveled where I have and seen pain and suffering like Americans rarely know. I was struck by a video that I saw on my favorite artist, Sara Groves' website. I don't know how to put videos on here, but here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSdP6PqsbJY And so I ask...where is the balance? Where is the link? Is there such a thing as a child-like call to action? Can one smile like a child in the face of suffering - someone else's suffering? The Word says that Jesus was a "Man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief." Do you think he still smiled a lot? Like a child? P.S. In the end we went with I am Sam...