Rugby vs. Teaching...

So, I can't remember if I have written on this idea before, but as I sit here in my very messy classroom at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon I cannot help but ponder: what about the nearly impossible attracts me?

I have had passions that roll over like dice though out my life. However, the three most recent ones have been RAing, Rugby, and now Teaching (regularly smattered among them have been reading, poetry, particular women, good music, and experiencing new things- especially food). But Regardless of the other interests I have had RAing, Rugby, and Teaching seem to be the big ones to me right now.

The way I did them I don't know if I was drawn to their counter culture natures, the fact that I could never perfect them, the community, the energy, the creativity, or the art and challenge present in each of those three activities. Regardless of the draw, and their differences I have one thing I know is the same. I really enjoy doing them. But I almost enjoy finishing them more than doing them. In this way rugby and teaching are a perfect parallel. Sometimes rugby hurts, is exhausting, exasperating, challenging and tediously long. So is a school week. But the moment that game is over and I can stand up (wobbly though it may be), hold my chin up, look around, smile and know that I did it. I finished and (regardless of the outcome) I poured everything I had into it. That is a school week: some good, some bad, some fun, some painful, some frustrating, some exhilarating, some more challenging than others. But at the end of the week, the bell rings and i chase my kids out dig for that last bit of energy to laugh and play with them so they go home with a good taste in their mouths and peace in their hearts. Then when the last kid walks out the door and I am standing in a quiet, dark, and destroyed room that looks like I feel and is begging for a weekend to heal. Then in the classroom I smile and thank God; I am existed and overwhelmed. But I am only nearly beaten. So, I turn up the MN tunes: Atmosphere, Cloud Cult, Mason Jennings, or Prince. Then I do a little dance, start picking up and smile. I have the greatest job in the world.