It has been quite the weekâthe loss of a job that mattered to me coming just ahead (hours ahead) of a last day of class with students I grew to love coming in the midst of submissions of two new books. In an hour or so, I'm off to Conestoga High School, a familiar, welcoming place, to meet with the aspiring writers and their teachers who are gathering for the Central League Writing Contest. I posted a wet-haired vlog tribute to Rachel Bing and her Zionsville sixth graders in the throes of it all (begging their forgiveness for both the hair and my mid-stream sentence shifts that left verbs on less than speaking terms with nouns) and I went dancing, because sometimes you have to.
In the middle of the middle of everything else, I received a note from my cherished son about a paper he had written. He's not a boastful kid, my son, only one who shares his happiness, and I was elated with him, for him, after he had shared his news. "What do you suppose enabled you to write a paper that got such a response?" I asked him.
"I think the key was that I was really comfortable with the material and therefore I know what I needed to say and what examples to use to make my argument," he emailed back. "It helps that I really enjoy what I'm learning, too."
Note to self: Do not forget the basics. Love what you do. It might just love you back.
Today may be my last semester day at Penn, but on Thursday, I'll be back walking a school's corridors. This time, my destination will be Conestoga High School, where the annual Central League Writing Contest will bring together an estimated 100 aspiring writers from some dozen high school districts in my area. I've planned a workshop for their teachers. I'm at work on a talk for the students themselves. As always I am certain that I'll gain most from those moments I can't anticipate, can't foresee.
Love this.
How fortunate I am to be living what I love!
What a perfectly wonderful reminder for us all. Your son is a wise young man.
What a mixed bag of a day. Congratulations to your son!
It's all too much!
But you will prevail. I have no doubt of it.
Rock on, Beth.
:^) A.