Ups & downs

School started today. Ruth insists that we arrive early to secure a good seat in her new classroom. So, when the alarm sounded at 5.15am this morning, we were rubbing sleep from our eyes and staggering to the dining room for breakfast. After a changing into her uniform, we left home just before six. When we arrived at school, most of her classmates were already there and but she managed to secure a good seat under the ceiling fan. I heard that some of the students were in school before 5.30am!

It will take a while for her to adjust to the routine of morning school as she had been attending afternoon classes for the last two years. She will have to brace herself for another year of assignments, projects, tuitions and examinations. That's the "glamour" of student life, ha! ha!

Studies aside, I was reeling from shock to hear that a very close family friend just had a mastectomy. For the past week, she complained of pain and a lump in her breast. She had a check up at the specialist and after the biospy, it was diagnosed as a highly probable case of breast cancer. When her husband informed me of the news, I was stunned. It hit me real hard, reminding me that cancer does not pick and choose, neither does it limit itself to statistics. A grim reminder of how fragile life can be. I can only beseech the Almighty God to heal and have mercy upon her.