Taking care of the fragile ones...




Today's plan is upended; Holly has the flu. Poor bean can't catch a break. No basketball today-- and there's only one more next weekend. I was going to take her to practice then out for a special treat. Instead, I'll go get her some meds.  She will probably miss tomorrow's CCD session too. Things are never that easy, are they?

So, instead of a fun Valentine's Day treat with my best girl, I'll be doing groceries, laundry, and cleaning bathrooms. Woo. At least they'll be done. And G and I had a great dinner out last night for V-Day, so that's all good. 

I might rent a movie online tonight to watch; I've been very curious about Hamnet, and I see it's nominated for 8 Oscars. I should give it a look. A couple of years ago, I watched the movie Ophelia, which is loosely based on the doomed and ultimately suicidal female "love interest" of Hamlet's, and it was nice (she didn't drown herself in this film, and she is portrayed as a strong woman). I feel like I should get up to speed on these things, even though most of my students will never voluntarily watch them. It's sad, really, how little curiosity they have for cultural things. They get their "fix" from TikTok reels and going to WhateverCon events. 

There may be one or two kids who choose to explore further, and that's where I feel my role fits in: if I can spark an interest, maybe their own explorations will take them further than the immediate gratification of social media. I have one student who is a deeply philosophical seeker; I've given him copies of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, and Frankenstein. I gave him, last year, a copy of Dante. (I had extra used copies of all of them donated to my classroom bookshelf, so...off they go to a good home!) All by his own request. I have hopes for him, but he's a gentle and troubled soul, so I also have my worries. 

Why is it that the more insightful kids are the ones who are teetering on the edge, more often than not? I remember being one of those kids, one who was deeply interested in classical music, deep reading, etc. and I had next to no friends. It wasn't until college that I felt even remotely comfortable, and even then, it was the professors I most aligned with, not my peers. And so it is today; I have very few close friends, because most people do not share my interests nor do they really want to. Thank God for the poet-world. They are my "tribe," and I have no idea how I'd survive without their friendships. 

And I have you, dear readers. You get it. Or, at least you allow me the flexibility to be, at times, ridiculous and a bit facile, but at others, you don't mind if I dig into stuff that is really interiority made plain and visible. You get a peek behind the curtain, and I hope it's not too boring.

Take care of the fragile ones. In the current state of things, they are considered expendable by too many people. Give them a home and a hot meal, literally or metaphorically. They are not okay.

C



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