let me tell you a story.

florian and i met back in 1991. soon after, we lived together in a tiny apartment in munich; he was going for his master's in research chemistry, and then his doctorate. but something never felt right, stuck in a lab, trying to make black crusty crystals no one would ever use. he'd come home, deflated and depressed. i could literally smell the desperation on him, remnants of some sour concoction brewing at the bottom of a test tube.

fast forward to the spring of 1995. we'd just gotten married, and discussions of The Rest of Our Life were the topic of the day. he knew he didn't want to be a research chemist, but in germany, changing horses mid-stream just wasn't done. then one day he came home beaming. he'd just tutored an undergrad, and as he explained to me how he felt seeing the light bulb go off over her head, this was the look on his face.

you can see it in his eyes, can't you? the glee?

he's now a high school chemistry teacher in a nice suburban new york town. the kids adore him, he's active in the teacher's union, and he's the coach of his school's academic challenge team (think "jeopardy!"for high schools). in fact, his team is the third best in the country, a rise in success that just happened to coincide with florian's involvement. he shrugs it off when i try and give him credit, but it's so obvious to me. the kids on that team -- the supersmart ones who never fit in anywhere, until now -- get to see this face every day, the sublime joy of learning and knowledge evident in every pore.

i'm an incredibly lucky woman, cos i get to see it too.