For various reasons, this summer I found myself back in Seattle instead of in Geneva finishing the second half of a Masters program.  Like so many other people at the moment, I'm trying, in some form or another, to take the "un" out of "unemployed."  Like so many other people at the moment, I have encouraging days and discouraging days.  Today was a discouraging day, as I found out that one part-time job I applied for had over a hundred applicants, many of whom were much more experienced than myself.  And so it goes.  The birds keep singing, the sun keeps (miraculously--or is it due to global warming?) shining, the leaves keep falling, and there still remain a million and one reasons to be thankful that I am here in this world at this moment in history.

 And yet: there are discouraging days. And it's during the discouraging days that the tiniest of miracles seem to make all the difference. 

This is my tiny miracle: tonight as I was walking home from the bus, a car slowed down next to me, and the driver asked me in accented English how to get to a nearby street.  I began explaining to her how to get to said street, and then I heard her young son interpreting my directions to her in French.  She was still having a hard time understanding, so I told her that I spoke French, for what it was worth, and that I could repeat the directions to her in French if she would like.  It was too dark to see her face, but her voice perked up, and she said, in French, "Oh, that would be much better, thank you."  After a minute or two of direction-explaining, she thanked me profusely, we all waved goodbye, and I continued on my way, in the dark, with a huge smile on my face.  Who knew that on this night in history, in a quiet suburb of Seattle, a car full of francophones would need directions?

That's it--two minutes of direction-explaining in French, and my day suddenly seemed a little brighter.  No matter how tiny the action, I, for once, felt needed.  Perhaps it's a bit selfish to crave that "feeling needed" feeling, but I must admit that it was a great feeling--one that has been lacking lately.  Time to check out some volunteer opportunities to combat the loneliness of sifting through Monster and Craigslist all day.