30 August 2008

reunion on teachers' day 2008

we bumped into 3 of our former students, zong (00S22-class of 2000), joanna and valane (01A03-class of 2001) on teachers' day dinner last night where 2 schools held their staff dinners in the same hotel. a chance-miracle closing the years that time set for us.

of course we were 'shocked' to discover they have become teachers themselves. the 3 former pioneers are now serving in clementi town secondary doing the same subjects, literatures in english (they still use our notes!) we taught them so long ago...while zong took the rare combo of music and history. that same morning, shawn and hui (04A04-class of 2004) came by and met the tired lot of us...and in a second, helped us look between the past and present space and the gift of self which they unknowingly carried along.
morning breaks. along the same corridor. and the night was just the close of another simple day. but we paused a little longer to capture moments that kept our vocation alive with meaning...the colleagues who have become lifelong friends...the same students who used to vex us return once more to bless the lives we led...unknown to all, each played a part to help us weather the difficult & unspoken moments in this profession. these pictures reflect some of the songs we penned. we expect you to take them away...never to return. we were happy to write them just for you, so that you can set them free, and move on to discover your own place in the widening channels of the open sea... but now and then, you still return to the same shore of your first dream, if only to say "i remember and hey 'cher'...thanks for everything..." that grace alone is sufficient for me...

27 August 2008

one ride for a lifetime


credo one-

we carry on being young & nubile just hours of our birth. as toddlers, we make new myths of our own. we climb to the summit just above our teenage years only to catch the ride of our lives, heading the thrill of adulthood, far away from the sombre thought of staying still....

credo two-

"doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"

mary oliver: The Summer Day