My Year
This year has been full of real whirlwinds
With happy and fun adventures to sad and heartbreaking ends
I traveled and presented to parents and teachers in Panama
On the importance of home reading programs and I saw
And heard how they encourage their children to read
While providing more ways they could cultivate that seed
The children were a joy to be around to see their joy and love of school
With me who was trying to speak Spanish but seeming more of a fool
The children enjoyed and laughed at my attempts to interact
It was a lot of pointing, hand motions so that the meanings could be intact
To see and hear about different cultural views
It was a great cultural experience with some great sights too
It helped to expand my horizons and stretch my comfort zone
Since I do not like public speaking or heights which is well known
When I got back in the states things went from really fun and great
To a whole different kind of emotional state
It was a phone call from my sister, my mom was in the hospital
She had coded but was ok now and had improved a little
It went back in forth from improvement to set back
But then she was doing well and seemed to be on the right track
When one early morning seeming out of the blue
I got the call and I didn’t know what to do
My mother was now gone
And I had to find a way to carry on
I needed to be strong for my grandma and my sister
Even though I too missed her
This is still true now even though time has passed
I still feel I need to be strong and steadfast
Everything happened at once with classes and project deadlines coming fast
The chaos was spiraling but I knew that I had to outlast
Finding a way to be there for them while still meeting all the other demands
Staying busy was the way I dealt, I couldn’t give in or I would fall under the quicksands
They always say you can go through more than you think
I suppose that is the one thing that that I learned.. well at least it is somewhat of a link
I know that I can be stronger for others than I can be for myself
And that is a lesson within itself
It may not always be good to hide the heartbreak
But life never stops and we need to know how to help others despite our own ache