Thankful

Play practice was torture tonight. Of course, kids did not have their lines memorized, every mistake (and there were many) warranted much laughter, imitation jokes, and side conversations among the kids, and all I wanted to do was come home. I finally get home, change into jeans, boil some pasta, and turn on CNN; I then watch a report of firefighters, exhausted, emotionally weary, and worried about their own homes and families, fighting a fire (one of many) in New Orleans. The fire hydrants don't work, so they have to find ways to pump the water flooding the streets. Their own homes are destroyed; I wonder where the relief workers do go at the end of the day. I wonder where their families are and when they will see them again. I'm still tired. I'm still glad to be home. But, wow, today was a faraway dream in the minds of too many people today, everyday.