A Year And Counting

Teaching last year was wonderful but it completely absorbed me and ate up my meager reserves of physical strength. Add into the mix that I had to start graduate school all over again (second Masters) -- and Blogging became one of those activities I needed to ignore.

The grad course for the fall semester of 2006 was online but the prof wanted paper after paper, I think to prove that we actually were reading the text book. I had to take an extension into February to get all the writing done. Somehow I was talked into taking two courses for the spring semester of 2007. One course was manageable and only required I attend once a week for three hours and write a couple of reasonable-in-length papers. The second course, a practicum, never met but the final paper was incredibly complicated. Again, I had to take an extension and just got it turned in finally, this week -- 24 pages of paper, 30 pages of addendum, and two Excel graphs showing 195 hours of work.

Meanwhile, Hubby continued to recuperate. Church work went forward. Friends fell by the way-side. By the time summer arrived -- for my school district in mid-May -- I was in dire need of a time for rejuvenation and renewal.

This summer has been wonderful. We did things slowly, very, very slowly. Hubby has always wanted to sell "junk" on e-bay, so we cleaned cupboards and closets and bookshelves and we began listing things. It's not as difficult as we initially supposed. A lot of things sold and a lot of things didn't so we gave a bunch away to the local charity stores.

Hubby met with the orthopedic surgeon and they evaluated his knees. I found a new doctor, hopefully one I will like this time around (the last one was just a little too into strange off-the-wall medications). I also began a series of dental work that revolves around a broken back molar.

Now summer is winding down. Next week Hubby starts the knee injections -- three in each knee for three succeeding weeks. I start the root canal on August 1 which will lead to a crown. I'm going to a two-day literacy workshop next week and the following week a two-day workshop to learn to use the Mac laptop the district gave me at the end of school.

I didn't take any grad courses this summer, but I'll start again in late August. School itself starts up August 3rd with teacher workshops. I wasn't ready last week for summer to end, but this week I'm beginning to think it will be okay. I'm rested. Most of what I wanted to accomplish has at least had dents made in them.

Last year was wonderful, though full of ups and downs, traumas and victories. This summer has been quiet and peaceful. I think about what it was like for me this time last year. My world has turned 180 degrees from that place. I'm ready to move forward, to enjoy this time of success in my life. Things are very, very good.

Hopefully, that means I'll be back here writing once again. We shall see . . .