Things to be thankful for

The first thing I have to be thankful for is that I made it through these three days without falling over. I've been having a very difficult time with sleep, so I've been idiotically exhausted. Today was particularly difficult, as for various reasons, I didn't get my morning dose of caffeine. I staggered through Advisement, stumbled through reading and commenting on the stories for the Fiction students, and before class, I had time for a 15-minute nap (and yes, I fell completely asleep). On the way there, I also got an enormous mug of tea, so now I'm chipper as a lark (maybe a little too perky, in fact).

So second thing to be thankful for: Paul suggested we have dinner together tonight, and I now am awake enough to do that without simply sitting across from him at a table, drooling. We can talk. Lovely.

I made the last tiny tweaks to the sabbatical proposal and submitted. I truly won't see it again now until after all determinations have been made.

Yet another: the students in the Fiction Writing class. One student whose paper was slated to be workshopped today didn't show up, but the others were there, and the workshop process went very well. The Real Writer had better, more intelligent things to say about the stories than I did. (OK, so despite the nap and the tea, I'm still a little drooly and stupid.) But I had enough to say that I didn't feel a complete yutz. I particularly liked the fact that when I arrived, they all were talking very animatedly about how to download music--and the discussion wasn't divided between the real writers and the hoi polloi: everyone was involved. I love when students just talk, about anything, before and after my classes. Because this is a commuter campus, students often don't know anyone--or only the friends they had prior to coming to NCC--so when they at least are acquainted with students outside their immediate circle (never mind actually finding new friends), it helps them feel the campus is a more congenial and literally collegial place.

I'm also thankful that, because three students were absent and we only workshopped three stories, we were done by 4:20. Thanks and praise, thanks and praise!

True, I've got a bit stack of stuff loaded into my bag to take home and mark, but I've been able to leave work in the office more often than not, so one weekend of taking work home is no big whoop. I also managed to cross a few more little bits off that list of tasks that sits on my desk and nags at me. (Hah! Take that, you nasty list!) Yes, there's more to be done, but gradually, I'm getting the tangle around my feet untangled, no longer in the tentacled grip of an Audrey 2 of work.




The final thing to be grateful for is that, once I check to be sure I have everything I need in my various bags, I can turn off the computer, turn out the lights, and be gone from here until Monday.


May we all have much to be thankful for, and remember to notice those blessings and give thanks for them.