The lights twinkle on the tree and we sit full bellied watching Gnomeo and Juliette. I think of love then I think of hate...

As I drove home last night Adriana says to me: "Ma, I don't understand people." I asked "Why not?"

She went on to talk about hate and how people didn't like and/or respect each other purely based on race or differences. She says to me, people just need to try and they would notice that no matter what, people are people. They speak, they eat, the do stuff. Why can't people just get along?

Children believe what they are taught...why teach hate?

Did you notice it?

As we drove down a road that was familiar to us, very familiar...we engaged in small talk. I still remember this conversation as if it were yesterday...

Me: Wow, They finished the building!

Her: Yeah, they worked hard.

Me: Yes they did.

Her: They did nice work! Who did it?

Me: People, people who learned how to design buildings and people who learned how to construct them.

Her: Who made these houses?

Me: People, men and women who learned how to make houses.

Her: What did they make it with?

Me: They used machines, tools and other supplies like wood.

Her: Did the people make the wood.

Me: No, they cut it down from trees and shaped it.

Her: Who made the trees?

Me: God

Her: Who made the grass?

Me: God

Her: Who made the people?

Me: God

Her: God does hard work.

Me: Yes he does.

Her: silence.......(couple of long seconds later) God does beautiful work!

Me: Yes he does, you are very observant.

Her: What's that?

Me: Means that you notice everything.

Her: God made it beautiful for me to notice it, right?

Me: Yes, I love you.

Her: I love you more.

Elsa, age 4

(disclaimer...it's been a while and although I remember it well, I may have missed a couple of details, but you get the gist of it)

Scene 1, Act 1..the warm up

      "All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
 And one man in his time plays many parts,
They have their exits and their entrances"

-As You Like It by William Shakespeare

So what part do you play? What's your role?

People

People have been telling me to put my thoughts down on paper, to keep a record, to tell my stories. At times I'm better at verbal expression and body language...but I hope to do the screen and keyboard (paper and pencil) some justice. Rather than sit around and think..."I should write about it"-here it is. Stay tuned to my consistency and hopefully this will not become just one more thing I have to do but rather a record and performance of my life as a teacher, mother, daughter, sister and so on and so forth...looking forward to sharing and hearing back from whomever is on the other side of the screen.