Perspective

Every once in a while life reminds me that my problems are small in comparison with others. Here's what's happening in the lives of my students:

* Ms. Glossy Violist hasn't been in class for a couple days. Today I found out her dad up and abandoned the family on Friday.

* The mother of two students in the music program works on campus as a college counselor. I ran into her just before lunch. She told me her husband lost his job last week (a victim of the economy). She said he got a good severance package, and that he has a lot of skills and connections... he should be fine. Still, it's weird to think that my job is a little more stable than that of a lot of people living in the upscale community I work for.

* Today, the parents of the most high-profile autistic student in the whole district awoke to find that he had shaved his eyebrows completely off.

Yeah... things could be worse.