This post is week 6 of 8 in the #8WeeksofSummer Blog Challenge for educators.
I have to be planning for a school year like none other this year. The first semester, I will volunteer at the school where I’ve been for eight years. I will continue and expand the literacy screenings and tutoring I did last year. However, in January, inshallah, we will be moving from Bahrain to California.
When I saw the prompt I got nostalgic thinking of my time here and how it is coming to an end. I took time to do art–this Art Date with Ms. Kate was a grounding activity where we drew a tree in the style of Gustav Klimt’s Tree of Life.
Life’s Trees
What
will
I keep?
I will keep
my love and
prayers for
Al Raja School’s
children and my hope
for this School of Hope.
That they will grow into a
new chapter even richer and
fuller than all the ones that
came before. I will keep my friends
and family. I will keep my love for
lifelong learning and creating, along
with my zest for life. I will keep writing
and cooking and baking and being hospitable.
I will keep my faith in God and a commitment to
love,
joy,
peace,
hope,
mercy
and
justice.
What
will I lose?
I will lose seeing my
friends daily, chatting on
WhatsApp like we aren’t in
a pandemic. I will lose the
Al Abraaj hamour dinner, sweet
mango juice and shawarmas on the
street. I will lose climbing to the
fifth floor and living in a diverse
culture which has become home.
I will lose our walks to the
souq. I’m afraid
I will
lose my
place
for a
while.
What
will I try?
I will try to find
a new place. A place
where I can continue
to teach children English
and how to read and write.
I will try to make a home in
California after forty years of
living away. I will try to do my
part to fight injustice
and to dismantle
white
supre-
macy.
I will
try
to be.