If it’s a small world, then it’s a smaller Bethlehem. Here, we all have our waffles – problems to chew, decisions to ponder – and we just might find that if we take time to learn about others, we will learn about ourselves in the process. After all, we are each other’s teachers, young or old, each other’s students, confident or questioning, each other’s neighbors, regardless.

Now, let’s dig in to some food for thought.

A wise man once asserted, “Time is the greatest commodity. You can’t get more of it.”

That wise man was Jeffrey Young, who teaches calculus and chairs the Math Department at Freedom HS. During the school year, he does that five days a week.

Young also works as a general contractor. Throughout the year (except for the coldest months), he does that around two days a week.

He has three teenagers and parents them, with his wife Lisa, seven days a week.

He does that regardless of the weather.

Like so many people, Young feels “life is very stressful in terms of the demands on [one’s] time.” Fittingly, he asks himself one question more than any other: “What am I going to do next with my time?”

One would think that such a strenuous balancing act might tire his arms, and one would be correct. In June, Young hurt his right elbow while playing tennis with two of his former students.

Even though the pain persists, he’s been hesitant to consult a doctor because he has “a sense of responsibility and stubbornness” and worries a doctor would order him to rest his arm. If he were immobilized, he “couldn’t do the work [he] did this summer.” Rest is not an option, because he has jobs to complete, promises to keep. “The things I said I’d do, I will do,” he said.

At this point, Young said he will reluctantly seek medical advice, because the upcoming spring tennis season is already in the back of his mind, and he wants to coach another FHS boys’ team to district glory.

Tennis may simmer on a back burner for now, but the reality that his older daughter is going to college next fall “has been on [his] mind for the past year.” His younger daughter will follow suit the year after. Consequently, he and Lisa, who has been “a tremendous help and information hound,” have spent considerable time pondering how to allocate their money.

Affording college is hard, he said, especially without knowing all the variables.

As a calculus teacher, not knowing all the variables must be tough. As a father, knowing that his daughters are growing up is tougher.

My interview with Young concluded at 8:45 p.m. His day had started at 5:45 a.m.; he had taught until 3:30 p.m., worked on a contracting job, ferried his son to and from soccer practice, hastily eaten dinner, and then fielded my questions. He was exhausted, but he was not complaining.

“You can choose to be busy or choose to say no,” he explained. “I’m not good at saying no.”

Either way, he was ready for sleep. What would come, would come. He said, “I have concerns and worries, but they don’t control me. They don’t paralyze me.”

Overall, Young has “a lot of faith that things will work out for the best.” His arm might not immediately heal, as he has dreamt. His daughters’ colleges of choice might not abolish their tuitions. Tomorrow probably won’t have 25 hours.

A Belgian waffle, replete with strawberries and vanilla ice cream, might not fall from the sky.

He can shrug off those minor disappointments, though … so long as he doesn’t strain his right arm too much.