good for all of us

Daniel comforting his little girl

Monday morning, I woke up early, took a shower, donned skinny jeans and a flowing rayon shirt, and hustled out into the drizzle with my raincoat pulled over my head, leaving Daniel at home with the kids.  I walked up the ramp to the filthy bike room at our apartment complex and unlocked the bike I share with my husband, plopping my book-bag into the basket.  I pedaled to the gate and met up with Alisa, who's four-year-old son was riding precariously on top of her rear tire.  We inched our way through traffic, in the rain, to Zeb's immersion preschool, where Alisa placed him in the waiting, smiling, kissing arms of one of his teachers.

Then we headed to one of the local universities, where we are both enrolled as language students for the spring semester!  We parked our bikes and locked them up, then scurried into the international student building and up to the second floor, where our teacher, Auir, was waiting for us with a dimpled grin.

For the next three hours, Alisa and I poured over phrases like, "Do you want black tea or green tea?" and "The mother holds the small baby," and "What time do you get off work?"  We took a break halfway through class and called our husbands, who were teaching our children their math and handwriting while monitoring our busy toddlers.  All was well at home, so we resumed our studies, and before we knew it, three hours had flown by and we jumped on our bikes and headed home.

Thank you, Daniel and John, for being willing to sacrifice your Monday and Thursday mornings so that Alisa and I can get out and learn a thing or two.  It is as much for our overall well-being and our outreach here as a family as it is for our ability to communicate with our neighbors and people we meet on the street.  You are wonderful husbands!