All In The Family

Last night we celebrated a first in our family. Claudia joined Jonathan and I as a martial artist. I can now say I am the proud husband of a Tae Kwon Do student.

My wife is one of the most courageous and heroic people I know. She, as I have mentioned before, has answered the call as a teacher. She spent several years teaching in the Bronx, both as a classroom teacher and as an ESL teacher. She now teaches in our adopted hometown in Connecticut.

I've seen her handle so many situations with fortitude and grace. There are times when she shows courage even when I am afraid. She is one of those rare people who are as strong as they are gentle.

So it was with a bit of wonder last night that I witnessed, for the first time, my wife blushing. She was uncomfortable, seemingly unsure of herself.

This is the power of martial arts. In your first class, everything is so large, so unattainable. Claudia is a former athlete, yet the new moves she was learning were like words of a language she'd never before heard (which in itself would be hard to find -- she speaks English, German, Spanish and can understand Greek). She struggled and was self-conscious.

It'd been a long time since my first class in the martial arts -- 1980 to be exact. I was just as unsure, just as self-conscious, just as overwhelmed.

However, I was nine. My son, who is now within a year and a half from his black belt, was even younger. To begin as an adult takes even more courage. I am so proud of her. So is our son.

Knowing my wife, she will use the feelings of her first class to her advantage. She will continue, and with each class she will gain a little more confidence in her abilities. In a short time, she will shine as a star in our school. She will see it to its completion, and I look forward to watching as the masters some day place a black belt around her waist, as they soon will my son's.

We are now a family of martial artists.

Thank you , Claudia, for joining us.