Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

 

Spring break ended on a good note Sunday. I found myself completely caught up with work related issues. When I walked into my office yesterday after being gone for ten days, rather than having to sit down and read journal entries, papers, or the readings for the day's classes, I just sat and read one of my newest books, Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose. I've already re-read the first two chapters; there's just so much I like about what she's saying that I want to think about it, remember it, lay it out next to my own work as I toil to find the just-right way of helping my characters say what they need to say. I even shared a paragraph from the book with my dev ed students. My cold frame: light enough for me to  lift. Today, when I had all class materials squared away within a half hour of getting to my office, giving me two hours to do "other" things before I had to go to class, I wondered why it took me so long to figure out just how much time I...