always use your blinker...

The career path that I find myself following is perhaps the most profound source of growth for me this year. As the lead teacher of a school program that caters to underprivileged, at-risk middle school students, my eyes have been pried open to an abundance of sobering enlightenment. The fifty-or-so students that swallow my time, energy, and knowledge each afternoon have sent me spiraling through waves of "ups" and "downs," all the while seemingly unaware of the impact they have on my life. I suppose we call these self-indulgent, self-absorbed beings adolescents? To bear witness to the tribulations of "normal" adolescence, paired with the crippling forces that these kids are up against--broken families, drug abuse, alcoholism, sexual abuse, gang violence--has been both heartbreaking (enter: downs...) and moving (enter: ups...). It makes me want to pound my fist when I hear (or, overhear) of the dire situations that my students face; it makes me want to pump my fist when I partake in the progress they make each day. I realize: some may make it to their high school graduation, and others may not. The least I can say is that I tried, that I was a force that challenged their paths...

Needless to say, my thirty-some mile commute back downtown, after work, is a time of reflection (and, of course, filled with the soothing sounds of NPR's All Things Considered and APM's Marketplace)...Today, aside from the knowledge gained from a day's work, I was lucky enough to learn a new, and very valuable piece of information...Deep in thought about today's struggles and successes, I pulled into a small intersection downtown, yielding to oncoming traffic before turning left. Following the break in vehicles, I made my move. Slick. Smooth. Swiftly. Enter: flashing blue lights, a brick of anxiety in my gut, and the ever-dreaded po-po-pull-over. Ughhhhhhh. "Well," says the cop, a thin, pale gentleman, perhaps a few years my senior. "Do you know why I pulled you over?" he asks, dawning a suave, matter-of-fact voice. "No, I'm sorry, sir, but I don't," I respond, trying to flash a charming grin his way. "You turned left onto Calhoun, but didn't use your blinker. I'm going to have to ask for your license, registration, and proof of insurance, ma'am." Handing him these items, I shoot him one more smile as he recedes to his car.

Oy vey! Twenty-five minutes later, we depart the scene of my traffic crime, an officially drawn-up warning in my hand (those smiles must have helped!), and some sense of power in his. Twenty-five minutes, right down the drain! To this, I end this evening with today's lesson learned: always use your blinker--just in case. This way, you will be guaranteed to save a precious twenty-five minutes of life, which is a most rewarding gift...