What's Missing

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder,
he needs the companionship
of at least one adult who can share it,
rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.
-- Rachel Carson --

After 29 years of employment in Christian education, the last 17 in some level of administration, I am not at school. Those who know me and once worked with me call this new thing: retirement. I find the word awkward and it seems to stick to my tongue but seems more comforting to those who know me, than actually my explaining the reasons which have lead me away from the classroom.
Equally awkward has been answering the question, “How are you doing?” when the questioner is serious and actually desires an answer. This past week I finally had an answer. "I miss the children." I related this to a close friend yesterday, who lived nearly 30 years in the UK. She paid me the following compliment (I think it was complimentary), “You are the most English of anyone I know in the U.S.” I knew she saw through the veiled meaning. I really do miss the children, though.
I also miss the drive in the early morning over the Whale Harbor Bridge. Seeing the colors of the new day over the expanse of the Atlantic invigorated each and every day with a sense of wonder and God’s mercies. I miss the wonder.
The Rabbi Abraham Joshua Herschel on his death bed declared to his closest friend, “Sam, never once in my life did I ask God for success or wisdom or power, or fame. I asked for wonder, and he gave it to me.”
I am missing the wonder of the adventure of each new day and the eyes of the children.

"The world will never starve for want of wonders,
but for want of wonder."
-- Gilbert K. Chesterton --