Travel slowly thru time

While practicing tai-chi this morning I reviewed a memory of how it was when I started over 9 years ago. The job I held gave me alot of freedom. My responsibility was a 9 year old boy who needed one on one supervision, initially, due to his inability to function in a school room setting. I also would work with him out of school. Working in an emotional support class can be draining. The kids in these programs tend to need a great deal of attention and patience. I began my tai-chi classes just as I began working in the emotional support special education class. Whenever I wanted I could leave the classroom and go to the teachers' lounge and practice tai-chi. I learned to time it when no one was in there hoping to avoid an audience. Inevitably, a teacher or teacher's aide or some body would pop in thru the door to buy some junkfood from a machine or for some coffee. This always felt a bit awkward and a strange feeling would linger. I then discovered the stage in the cafeteria/gym. This became my home for tai-chi in that elementary school almost a decade ago. No one knew I was back there as I'd travel slowly thru time with the powerful graceful movements which make up this exercise. An exercise refined for over 2300 years by millions of people in China. I remember how surreal it felt as I slowed down time and grounded myself into the proccess while the children were doing jumping jacks and pushups. The curtains would be drawn and the light was dim. Soon, I'd be back in the classroom, recharged and present, able to do my job more effectively.