Blog Burner...

Over the past month I have had to take a break from my kindergarten classes in order to teach summer school for my full-time hagwon. Most students are on summer break from their schools and therefore attend more classes at our private academy. But, the summer intensive schedule is over and now I am back to normal work hours, and back to teaching my kindergarten students.

Having been gone for a month, I didn't expect most of the students to remember me. Foreign teachers are a commodity and come and go frequently in Korea. Not to mention, my students are about five years old. They grant their loyalty to whichever teacher brings stickers to class. So, when I arrived at work yesterday morning and heard little feet pattering behind me I didn't pay much attention. But, it was like munchkins appearing to surround Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Kids would just find parts of me to hug. One had my arm, while another had my leg. Little Mike smelled my hair while Grace tried to put a sticker on my shirt and Ella wanted a high-five. Mose remembered the song I taught him and started singing it to me. And this was just in the first few moments from when I walked in the front door and down the hall to the teacher's room. When I finally went to my classes, a lot of the kids wanted to show me things. Michelle (7 years old) lost her two front teeth. Kai (5 years old) finally picked an English name and wanted me to say it out loud. And Chloe (4 years old) just looked up at me when I walked in and started giggling so hard she fell over. It was the absolute best welcome-back I have ever received!

In other news, I keep a journal. (Let me be clear, I do not keep a diary. Diaries have plastic locks and pink pages. I keep a journal) A few years back I started re-reading some of my entries and came within inches of shredding entire pages. The stuff I wrote was so stupid and juvenile that I never wanted to read the entries again, let alone run the risk of having anyone else ever find them and read them. But, instead of burning the pages and burying the ashes deep underground I made the rule that if I write something in my journal, it stays. No “hindsight is 20/20” editing. So far, I’ve been pretty good about following the rule. I have corrected a few spelling mistakes and written bits of commentary on past entries But, overall I’ve been quite the self-enforcer. I bring this up because I’ve recently cross-applies the rule to this blog. Having re-read a variety of entries, I've become tempted to edit. For example, my recent post regarding my plea for a phone call. I can't help but ask myself, "Really, Jacki? Really? You really wanted to post on the world wide web that you were waiting by the phone for a boy to call?” I think the answer to that question is pretty obvious. Nonetheless, I wrote it. I posted it. So, now it might as well be written in stone. It stays. As does everything else. I will not be editing.

Moving on... Biden rocks. More on that later.