Life is Like a Roller Coaster

Don't you ever just look at life and feel like you are on a roller coaster? There are just so many ups and downs. One day, the sun is shining and we are on top of the world and the very next day, everything comes crashing down. I guess this is what helps remind us that we are alive. It also makes us notice and appreciate the ups. I know that when I get better after being sick, I try to remind myself not to take my health for granted. When the cold and snow finally melt away, I look forward to summer that much more. Well, today, I was reminded again about the highs and lows that come with life.





This is the last week of French Camp. I began my class as usual at 9:00am, with the daily quiz and song. I noticed that one student, Jimmy (name changed, obviously), was absent. He hadn't told me that he was going to be gone today. He is a fun kid. He beatboxes, plays the drums, speaks French and Spanish and has been saving up his hard-earned money at Arbys for months to leave for France on Wednesday. He will be there for the rest of the summer. He is funding this trip himself because he wants to learn French before beginning college in the Fall. His parents have not been able to help out. Around 10:00, Jimmy came in the door, looking as deflated as could be. He slumped in his desk and put his head down. "Ça va?" I asked him. He lifted up his head and shrugged his shoulders. Something was wrong. He couldn't seem to get the French to come out right. He finally blurted in franglais that he slept in this morning and therefore had to speed to class. A police officer pulled him over. He was given a ticket for speeding as well as a 2nd ticket for driving without insurance. Oh no! He said that it will be about $490 in all. I didn't know what to say to such a good kid. I looked around the room, scrambling for something...I found the prize basket. "Pringles?" I asked. He shook his head. "Cinnamon hand cream?" Again, he just shook his head, sadly. "Toblerone?" I put it back in the basket before even waiting for his response. He perked up, "Chocolate?! OUI!" I handed over the Toblerone bar. He broke it open and got a smile on his face as he sunk his teeth into the first bite. Kids everywhere started raising their hands, telling me that they too got a ticket. It was good that we could all have a good laugh, but I felt so bad for this kid, now having to spend most of his savings on one bad choice.




Right after class, I felt like checking up on one of my good friends, Amy (name also changed). I sent her a text to ask how everything was going, since I hadn't heard from her for a couple of weeks. She wrote back immediately and said she wasn't doing so well. Her boyfriend of several months just broke up with her out of the blue! How does that happen? I know that breaking up doesn't get easier as you get older. My heart hurt so much for her.



I opened a book called Almost French, that I am supposed to read in preparation for my France trip. It is about a lady who marries a Frenchman and moves to France. She never seems to be able to fit in: she is always wearing the wrong clothes or saying the wrong thing. At French parties, she feels like a wallflower. It is nearly impossible to get into French social circles--some of them have continued for centuries. I guess that explains the saying that the French are like baguettes: hard and crusty on the outside, but warm and chewy on the inside, if you can get inside.





Luckily, I will finish today by making a delicious dinner of potatoes, hamburger and carrots with cherries and grapes on the side. Mmmmm! Then, I am going to watch Joseph at the Murray Arts in the Park performed by the group that I was with last summer. Nothing like a play to escape the problems of the world!