I had my first seriously dramatic encounter with a parent tonight. I have to admit that I'm still a little shaken up over it. I don't think anyone has spoken to me in that way since I was a child. I felt like a child. I felt responsible. Well, I was responsible. I tried to apologize, and eventually the parent calmed down and apologized too. But I've never been put in such a difficult position. In the end, we were all crying--the student, the parent, the teacher--and it felt horrible. But it was resolved, and I felt like God enabled me to handle it with grace. I tried hiding the fact that I was choking up, and I think I was pretty successful, but I bawled afterwards for awhile. It was a huge learning experience, and I hope that I'm a little more stable in similar conversations that will inevitably take place in the future.

I knew that this would happen eventually, and I'm glad that I went through it. But I did not enjoy it at all.

Welcome back to school.

"The godly are designed for unknown and inconceivable happiness."
--Jonathan Edwards

I started reading Taste and See by John Piper this week. He is an Edwards fanatic. The quote above was stated in a sermon by Edwards when he was only twenty years old. Can you imagine understanding such deep levels of theology at twenty? I'm twenty-three and I barely grasp Piper's concept of Christian hedonism.

I decided that right-justified was fun for today.

I've been having this hankering/yen to play catch for the last few days, but so far, I have yet to satiate my desire. At least it's warm enough that there will be future opportunities.

School starts on Tuesday. I'm not extraordinarily thrilled about going back to work, but I think that once I get there, it will be good. There's a work day tomorrow, but I'm trying to avoid thinking about it.

Poems to be written

just get stuck

and refuse to come out.

Desires to be aesthetic

intouch

artsy

are left vanquished

by peanut-butter syndrome

(when it

clings to the roof

of the mouth

making speech

difficult)

no one

understands you

garbled

sticky

stupid.