It is the end of another week.

I subbed at the Kodiak high school and middle school this week, mostly at the middle school. The middle school kids seem to have been taken to me. Today as I left, one of the kids said, “Hey Mr. E. You’re an awesome sub,” and then we did the whole fist bump thing. That’s a nice way for a teacher to end a week, though I imagine such a picture perfect ending is fairly rare!

On the beautiful and short walk home today I was thinking about the range of my employment and volunteer work. I’ve familiarized myself with the education system, the incarceration system, and care giving for disabled adults. I mention this because of my recent (as in the last year or so) sense of calling to ordination and ministry. Ministry in any kind of pastoral situation seems to require a range of experiences that allow you to be familiar with the challenges that face society and individuals.

Working in education, even as a substitute, also allows me to kind of observe and recall the goings on of those in middle school and high school. It is a stage of life that is so….well….I suppose it is difficult to find the right word: strange, energy-infused, and also weirdly both dependent and independent in ways that kind of work against each other.

In any case, cheers to all those of you who made it through another week. And cheers to our teachers.