I'm struggling. Others are struggling more.

Guys, I'm struggling. I don't mean for this to sound like I am complaining, but I need to  vent and wallow for a bit. I know I don't have it as bad as A LOT of people in the world. I know I have SO MUCH to be thankful for. But I am just opening up and telling you how I feel right now.

I've been sick for a solid week. For four of those days, I didn't even work- it was Labor Day weekend. But for the past two days I have had to work and it is NOT helping anything clear up. Teaching seven 40 minute music classes and then sometimes piano lessons after school does NOT help my throat/head/sinuses feel better.

I have a headache. My throat hurts. I'm coughing. My sinuses are runny and congested. My nose is peeling from blowing it. My lower back gets SO TIGHT from walking/standing all day while I teach. (I even wore my sneakers to school this week but it's not helping.) I am EXHAUSTED because on Tuesday night, I didn't fall asleep until after 2:30, due to the fact that I can't breath through my nose and I CAN'T. TURN. MY. BRAIN. OFF.

I'm supposed to run a half marathon on Saturday. I paid $80 like eight months ago to sign up for it. I really have no desire to run it because I feel so crappy and tired that I can't imagine running for longer than an hour at this point.

I wish I could sleep.
I wish I felt healthy.
I wish my lower back didn't ache.
I wish I was happy.


And yet, it is always good to put things in perspective and remind myself that I am still very, very lucky. There are a lot of people that are struggling much more than I am.

For instance, there are still 500 migrant children separated from their parents.

CAN YOU IMAGINE?

Yesterday, at the end of a kindergarten music class, a little boy looked very teary eyed.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "I miss my mom," the little boy told me.

I hate when kids tell me this because there is nothing I can say to make them feel better. I put my hands on the little boy's shoulders and  said, "Music class is almost over. Then you'll go up to your kindergarten classroom to learn a little more, and before you know it, you'll be catching your bus to head home."

And the little boy was still so sad.

Can you imagine how those 500 migrant children feel? They are not going to see their parents tonight. Twenty-two of them are under the age of five, younger than my kindergarten students. They probably have absolutely no idea what is going on. All of these children are going to be traumatized for the rest of their lives.

I hate this.

I'm not trying to take away the pain of my kindergarten student. The student had every right to feel sad. I'm just pointing out that if that student felt that sad, imagine how terrible the children taken away from their parents at the border feel.

I wish this was talked about all. day. long. in the media until every child was back with their family.