Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Now is crunch time for finishing grading and submitting final grade reports. I don't mind this time of the semester as I know I have to get grades in by a certain date, which means once I click the Submit button I'll be free. No more papers to read. No more slogging through essays that make me wonder what these students were doing during high school English classes. No more having to break the news to Susie that just because Mom thinks Susie's writing is awesome, this doesn't mean it actually is. The downside here is I'll only be free for about two weeks. Then summer session begins. I'm not looking forward to it, but I've decided since I have to teach I'm going to take the opportunity to try out some new ideas. This will entail taking a bit of a different approach, an approach that gets me excited when I think about the possibilities. It could be really, really fantastic. It could also end up being a crash and burn summer I'll want to forget as soo...

Lovely Beautiful Daughter went back east yesterday. I began missing her before we had even left the house to take her to the bus which would carry her up to O'Hare. The last time we said good-bye at the small airport here in our little city, I watched her wipe tears away as she went through security. Yesterday, I wiped tears away as I walked back to the car. We had such a wonderful time together during the five days she was here. She's a spark of life that makes everyone around her feel happy. While she was here, I didn't get my students' paper read like I'd hoped to. A few years ago, I would have been agonizing over not finishing the grading as planned, really stressing myself out, but now? Now I shrug it off and send a note to all students, telling them I'm behind and will complete the grading during the next few days. My position about my job, about teaching writing, these days is so different from just five years ago. I believe having strong writing skil...

This weekend was supposed to be grade papers weekend. I was going to get started early yesterday as I have quite a few papers that need attention. So what have I been doing? Avoiding anything related to work by brewing up another batch of kombucha (the first batch was okay--a little too vinegary for me--so I'm hoping this batch works out better). making yogurt (love knowing the only ingredients are whole milk from grass-fed cows and cultures). simmering beef bone broth on the stove (and burning the palm of my hand by grabbing hold of the cast iron skillet used to brown the bones in the oven before transferring them to the stock pot. My little, "I'm so stupid! I'm so stupid!" dance around the kitchen as I'm holding my hand brought Hubby running and turning on the cold water at the sink for me). making homemade granola (which smells so good as it is heating in the oven). sweeping and mopping and dusting and laundry and dishes (yes, even cleaning ho...

I usually sit in my office and read/respond to student work for several hours before going to class. Some days I'm really productive, making a huge dent in the stack of papers. Other days I find it terribly difficult to settle in and get things accomplished. Thankfully, this morning, I was very productive. I am totally caught up in three classes. All papers have been read, responded to, and the grades recorded. That leaves three classes to go. I'm thinking maybe this evening, after I do a little more fall cleaning of the garden, I'll pour a shot of whiskey, make myself comfortable at my desk, and try to get the other three classes caught up. I'm jazzed now that I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully the whiskey won't turn off that light.