“Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.”
– Marcus Aurelius
It was my children’s first day back to school after a holiday break. The school bus was due to pull up to the corner in four minutes. My daughters were doing their last minute gathering of shoes, water bottles, lunches, and backpacks.
“Don’t forget it’s Tuesday,” I called to my eight-year-old daughter as she headed for the boots lying next to the door. “Tennis shoes for P.E.,” I added.
My child stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to face me, gripping her right arm with her left. “Mama, my arm hurts today. Could you write me a note that says my arm is sore?”
- “You want me to write a note now? You should have thought of it sooner.”
- “Sore arm? Let me guess—too much Nintendo Wii? I am not writing a note for that.”
- “You will be fine. Come on, we need to go. The bus is coming.”
I thought those responses. I thought them all.
But I didn’t say them.
Because as I was [Read more…]