What a week it was, partly evidenced by the fact that I forgot to post something until here at 5 AM on Tuesday morning.
I usually associate Halloween and late autumn with good times and fond memories, but this year has been a little different. I've had a friend who had to make a very difficult decision regarding a marriage; I've had a mother who tripped and injured herself on Halloween; I had to replace a leaky toilet shutoff valve; this morning I'm having to make an hour drive trip at 6 AM to hopefully meet someone at a charter school that is having connectivity issues. All these things have been on my mind constantly, and have caused me to reflect on a lot (well, not so much on the charter school outage, that's just par for the course when I'm on call).
On the plus side, these experiences have also been good for experience. I should add that obviously, the half of these experiences that regard others are far more relevant and personal to those to whom they pertain. Still, if nothing else, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to be there and offer what little help I can in difficult moments- I know there are friends and family who would do the same for me in a difficult spot. I use the word hero carefully, knowing that the term often invokes the idea of someone who holds themselves in too high of a mindset. I'll be the first to admit I have nothing I feel is extraordinary to offer in most scenarios; but I define the term hero as (to quote a favorite album of mine) just a man who knows he is free, and someone who does the best they can in the worst of times. In that light, I and many others (though I and many others don't usually consider it) put on the cloak of a hero when hard decisions and opportunities to offer small amounts of help arise. I think no one ought be ashamed of rising to the task of helping someone else when the opportunity presents itself. And while this entry may appear as me "sounding a trump" to some degree, obviously in our heroic little deeds every day, we need not boast (it's partly for that reason I've left a lot of details obscured in my dealings this week). But it goes to show that no one person or type of person need be considered a hero, and certainly not all of the time. Each of us has our times. Even those who feel helpless have their chances to rise to offer a helping hand, or comfort a friend, or hold the door for a stranger, because when we know we are free, we seek to liberate others, too.
Much else has happened this week, including a total facial shave, jumping ship on Google One, and jumping in head first into PopOS. But my time now is limited, so I must journey on. Until next week.