Travelling teacher

This post is a little challenging to write, and I almost didn't. The last couple of days have been to say the least, difficult. A struggle. Painful. My heart has been aching in a way I didn't know it could. So it seemed silly in a way to bring up the emotions and it's taken some time for me to get to a point where I'm even willing to process things in writing.  I hurt for the families and loved ones of those who have been lost in Christchurch, for the violation of what is most precious for the Muslim community, for the relentless trauma the city has been put through. My prayers and aroha are with you, your grief is mine also. You are not alone. But despite the horror, despite the tragedy and the hate, there has been an overwhelming response which has struck so much deeper. Love. Even saying the word is wrecking me all over again. It's like every time I see a kindness, another layer is peeled off the walls of my heart trying to control the feels. And oh, the kin...

Today is my birthday. Well, kind of. Coming from the other side of the ocean where they live a day into the future, my born day was actually yesterday. Which, as my brother pointed out, would have made me a leap baby had I been born here, and this year would be one of the 22 years from my life so far that my birthday did not exist. Kind of a crazy thought I'm still processing, but it's okay - I'm getting fairly used to processing things these days! (A day in the life of a BSSM student). But, gratefully, I was born on the other side of the ocean, so my born day still exists, even if it has taken a little longer to arrive than normal! So enough on that already. Today, I became a cube, for the third time out of what will probably be four times in my life. And not just any cube, but the cube of three. If, like me, you are part of the (very small) minority in this world who find mathematics beautiful, you understand just how special this really is. But if not, the signif...