A Christmas Shout-Out to Stan and Kathryn

As part of this Christmas season, I would like to pay tribute to a lovely young couple, Stan and Kathryn, who are special to me. I taught both of them, Stan for four subjects and Kathryn for two (she came to our school in the 11th grade). But, even more special than that - Stan first laid eyes on Kathryn in my Junior English class and probably had a few thoughts of marriage even in those first few minutes! It's been fun to follow their lives on their blog, The Jordans' Journey.

But, for a young couple happily in love, they will not be together this Christmas. Stan is serving us in Iraq, while Kathryn holds the fort down here in the States. I'm sure she has her moments, but her blog entries display a positive mental attitude and approach to this difficult time in their lives.

I wrote to her, around the time Stan deployed (about a month or six weeks ago), and reminded her of a couple of lines in a poem that we read in senior English, titled "To Lucasta, Going to the Wars," by Richard Lovelace,

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"I could not love thee, Dear, so much,
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Loved I not Honour more."

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(Now, without saying too much, let me mention that I'm sure Stan does not remember this, as British Literature was, to put it mildly, not his favorite subject.) :-)

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But I think of this young couple, and did when teaching this poem a few weeks ago, as personifying the meaning of these lines of poetry. I am grateful for Stan and Kathryn, and their acceptance of the hardship of separation, because of their love of the honor of our country. Their sacrifice is helping to keep all of us safer.