credit: …TimHe arrives on planet earth after nine months of travel and is astonished at the commotion, the lights and the sounds that greet him. Everything he sees and hears is new. Faces peer at him. He is touched, lifted into the air, passed from one set of arms to another. Clothing is wrapped around him, he loses the freedom of floating in his own secure world.

Suddenly there are mysteries to solve: Who are these people and what are they saying? What do they mean? Sometimes he finds them amusing and laughs, but at other times frustration leads to outbursts. They don't always understand him when he needs to burp, or wants to change positions, or when he is hungry, wet, sleepy, frightened or bored.

Thus, from the first moments of his arrival, he begins the process of adapting to his new environment. The challenges before him are daunting: get physically strong enough to move about on his own; learn a language through association, repetition, trial and error; develop a sense of trust and security in a world of total dependency on others.

Somehow, as miraculously as his entry into this world, he grows and learns and becomes comfortable in his new surroundings. He feels great.

After a very short time, just when he thinks he has things figured out and is in control, he's sent to school and is introduced to a whole new world. Momma Mia!  It starts all over again!

The Schoolmarm