Monday Miscellany: In with the New!

The ancient Greeks would look to nature for signs before the beginning of an enterprise great or small. The flight of a bird could portend greatness or warn of coming disaster. Before dawn on the morning of the first day at my new school, I opened the front door of my house to begin my commute. I felt something bump into my shoulder and then into my head as I began to step out through the door. I jumped back to see a plump arachnid spinning only inches from my eyes. This was the very worst of omens, if not for the ancient Greeks at least for this modern American. You can read about my earlier experiences with what I term "Spiderfall" here.


Later that day I introduced myself to my classes. My new school is the main rival of my old school, and I knew I had to get the fact that I was coming from their cross-town rival out and over with as quickly as possible. I revealed my dark secret in different ways to my five different classes. In one class I said, "For the past six years I have been teaching at another local private school," when a girl exclaimed, "As long as it isn't [the name of my old school]."


In truth, it was a pretty good week. While my move to a new school has been mostly a horizontal move, there is much more vertical potential, and the leadership is much more gifted in, well, leadership. I also get a new benefit: free hot lunches. I was, at first, skeptical of the value of this benefit, but the first week's menu has me excited to go to work everyday if not for the students at least for the food. There is always a salad bar, sandwich bar, hot soup, choice of Mayfield frozen treats, and two entrees. By Tuesday's Blackened Flounder with Rice Pilaf, I was happy I made my move. I think this a job in which I can really grow.


We went to a local mega-church Sunday. My wife and kids have been before, but today was my first day. It is a huge institution. It takes some time to get everyone where they belong. Everyone was very nice and the twenty-minute Sunday school lesson was good. But on the way out, I realized that we had spent at least twice as much time walking around, signing the kids into things, and picking the kids up from things than we did learning about the Word of God. I have trouble getting past the fact that there is valet parking for pre-school.


My son just came downstairs to let me know that he had just finished reading the Bible. He has been working on a Toddler Bible for the past three days. It has a picture and one or two sentences per page. There are over 400 pages.


Peace
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