As far as bad days go, yesterday was a colossally bad day. First of all we're experiencing the infamous Santa Ana winds and the heatwaves they bring. That alone can make people crazy but apparently Mercury is rising, and according to our hippy music teacher that makes "kids act wacky". So the wind and the heat and the kids were taking their toll on me all day. Then I got accused of getting "emotionally involved" with a student and was told not to care so much. That whole story is too long and confidential to get into here, but I know that I was not out of line. I know that we owe it to this student to go the extra mile fifteen feet and whenever it is possible for me to do it I will!

While I was being advised not to be a student's "advocate" (whatever that means, since as a teacher isn't that what I'm supposed to be?) my dad was leaving me a message my mom was to upset to leave. And as inevitable as we know it is, knowing death is knocking on your grandfather's door is still dreadful. My parents want me to be prepared to travel soon if that knock gets answered.
My day ended on an even darker note when I went to console a friend who has more to be upset about than I can even imagine. I came home and there was even more bad news about a family friend and it was almost too much to handle. That's when I told Dominic I couldn't handle one more ounce of bad news.

Fortunately, there was a tiny miracle brewing in our fish tank! Our blue damsels had laid and fertilized eggs under a shell for the second time! Remembering how the first time they became a caviar dinner for the crab, I told Dominic we had to do something to protect them. We did, but we had no idea how long (or short) it would be until they hatched. Just before we went to bed we checked on the eggs again and that's when we saw one of the world's tiniest miracles! Hundreds of tiny baby fish were hatching before our eyes! It's probably not likely they will live but their miracle made my day. With death and dying weighing so heavily in the air it was incredibly uplifting to see the miracle of life happen right before our eyes.

It reminded me of the preciousness of every breath of life, no matter how tiny, long or short it is.