But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. – Genesis 33:4, NRSV

When I was in the third grade, I stole chalk.

My reasoning was very simple.  Teachers had better chalk than I, as an unemployed 9 year old still living with her parents, could purchase.  My dream was to be a teacher, and I spent my time away from school trying to get people, and pets, to let me teach them.  I reasoned that teacher-grade chalk was my way to make this dream a reality.

My technique was to back myself against the chalkboard every afternoon as I left, say a hearty good-bye to my teacher, and swipe the newest, longest, whitest piece that I could find.

I was not like any of the vandals that you would see on TV.  I would call my methods, unrefined.  In fact, it was a miracle that I was not caught sooner.  That’s right, I was caught, but let me continue.

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