Strange surprises

It’s strange, the way change can happen.

It can be a smooth and subtle transition, a horrible bumpy and juddering affair, expected, surprising.

Definitely surprising.

Like the way my word-warrior no longer waits for me to sound out a word for her when she’s reading, convinced she can’t do it. Now she ploughs ahead, confident that she knows how this letter should go, this word, and blithely ignoring all of my attempts at help thank-you very much. Or at least if she doesn’t, it will soon surrender to her efforts and a quick check of my face to see if she’s on the right track.

Like the way another student who a while ago quite proudly showed me her Buddha necklace now prays every break and lunch in long sincere strings of Thai. Praying for each and every member of our class, anyone who’s sick, giving thanks for milk, the morning, everything under the sun. Pra Yesu pra Jow, she says, Jesus and God, Amen.

Like the way my little basketball-ninja doesn’t cry nearly so often now; he laughs, smiles, runs around in an utterly hectic fashion and bellows ‘Ja-eh!’ at every appropriate (And inappropriate) moment, and I have a heck of a time keeping him from exploding from the sheer restless energy he constantly exudes. He listens now, not instantly turning and asking ‘What did she say?’ the moment he thinks I’ve finished a sentence. He tries to think problems through a bit more instead of guessing haphazardly, and seems to have finally decided this crazy foreign woman rambling at him might be worth paying a bit of attention to.

Surprising as these changes are, they’re pleasant ones. I God pray never stops changing things, and I never stop being surprised.