Family of the Week

It's this cute thing Ari's class does. Feature one child's family each week by asking them to create a posterboard of pictures, visit the classroom one morning, and by asking Ari to fill out a questionaire about himself. We volunteered for this week and when I told Ari he was so excited.  He was so thrilled about something normal. Just like I am all the time.

I know that everybody has their struggles, but from what I can tell it seems that all the families in his class have been nicely intact these last six months; no familiy members mysteriously out of town. So I think our being together means more than our just being together. It means that we're like everyone else. I remember when I first came back, and I brought Ari to school one morning. I don't do it often because I know I should stay out of there for the moment. One of Ari's little friends who he's been buddies with since pre-school, looked up at me and said, "I thought you were supposed to be in the hospital! You're back?"  It was kind of shocking. For both of us. I think he was suprised to see me. And I think I was suprised he was suprised to see me. My being gone worried my kid's friends. I know it's true with some of Isaac's friends too. What a reality check. Especially for these little people who are too small to have to be dealing with reality checks at all!

So as I was glue-sticking the photos we chose to the green posterboard, I was so excited! I was helping out on a class project! Sitting in my kitchen late at night surrounded by bits of trimmed photos and images of family and trips we've taken. Setting out star stickers for Ari's final touches at breakfast, I literally sit there thinking, "I can't believe this!" It's like "Pinch me, I'm alive!!" It's such an unusual thing to have mixed into your life. I feel very awake. And I know it is from this heinous experience, and survivng it.  I always wonder how the people I know who love life so much got there without ever experiencing anything life threatening.  I think it's so smart to learn from other people's experiences. If you can. It means being really empathetic, but it can give you so much richness without maybe having to go through all the struggle.

So, I just love being Family of the Week for Ari.  Although, to me, it feels more like, "Family of the Strong"...