Abuelos y Niños

Well, I figured I should start trying to throw a little Spanish into my day to day life. Olga has been good about slowly exposing me to written/spoken Spanish. While I did have some Spanish instruction in high school and college, I haven't retained very much because 1. I never studied enough to put it into my long term memory, 2. I never put it to real use, 3. I also had French and it kind of all mixed in my head (one time in French class I answered a question: "Oui, muy bien!") Plus, some things just sound cooler in Spanish, like Abuelos y Niños (grandparents/elderly people and children = the title of this post) :)

Anyways, I just arrived home from work (evening shift at the nursing home, one of my last shifts before I leave for my year away) and on my drive home I began to think how my life has been made up of working with elderly people and working with children (I have been working at Fairmount Homes for 6 years and in college/training to be an elementary teacher for the last 5 years): two polar opposites on the ends of the life span spectrum! It is really quite a unique and interesting combination. It is amazing how many similarities and parallels I can see. After all, the one group is just starting out life and the other is finishing it, and for whatever reason, the Lord has designed it so that the life process has us entering and leaving this world in similar ways. We sort of come into this word needy and dependant on others, work towards becoming independent, eventually gain our own independence, slowly lose our independence, and eventually have to once again rely on others to help meet our needs. I feel lucky to be able to work with these two age groups. It is so rewarding, eye-opening, challenging, fascinating, and entertaining. There is so much that can be learned...about myself and about life! Hmmmm...I wonder how all these lessons and experiences play into God's plan? :)