Yesterday my mom told me she ran into an old friend of mine at the grocery store - a very old friend. It was my kindergarten teacher! Although I haven't seen her in over 20 years, she told my mom that she remembered me.

I would've been hard to forget. I had a tough time with kindergarten. I had a lot of separation anxiety. I cried when my mom would drop me off because I was always afraid she would forget to come back for me later.

My brother was little enough to stay home with my mom all day and I didn't think it was fair. Ah, the age-old childhood complaint: "It's not fair!" Whenever my brother and I would attempt that line of reasoning in response to something, my parents would always reply, "Well life is not fair."

It was frustrating to hear, but they were right. Life is not fair. I don't know why we seem to have an innate expectation that it is or should be. As an adult there are occasions where I would love to pout my lip and stomp my foot and proclaim, "That's not fair!" Unfortunately I can't do that and it is with an adult resignation that I accept that the situations I find myself in are a result of my own actions, regardless of fair. There is no benevolent "fairness" fairy waiting to adjust things for me.

Of course, there is another factor that can throw things all out of whack and that is other people. If you cannot expect life to be fair you should at least be able to expect that the people who you trust will treat you fairly. When someone agrees to do something they should follow through with it. Being disappointed is the greatest injustice I can think of and I will still say that "it's just not fair!"

At least I could always count on my mom. She never forgot to pick me up from kindergarten.  ¶ 1:53 PM