I spend an hour searching for my school keys. I thought they
were right where I left them. The problem being, the “right where I left them”
was the first week of May. Lots of things have happened since the first week of
May. Ah, finally, I find them and tuck them into my blue rolling suitcase. It
is falling apart at the seams, but it is my trusty carryall, and I just don’t
have the heart to replace it! I toss in my laptop and phone…a jacket and a box
of Band-Aids. I don’t know why I toss in
the Band-Aids, but one never knows. Macbeth once said, “Is that a dagger I
see?” Okay, enough of the drama, there is work to be done.
The parking lot at Trine is empty on this Sunday morning.
The only car there is Dr. Hopp’s, and I figure he is writing in the HAC Lounge.
I am right. The door is already unlocked, and he is working on his poetry. In
case you didn’t know, Dr. Hopp is a really fine poet. Last year he presented to
our writer’s group an epic poem about chickens. Seriously. It was brilliant. It
is good to see Tim and to chat a bit before I go to my own room.
The photos from our spring show are curled on my door. Lots
of summer heat and humidity as my room is by the back door. I find my keys and
unlock the door. It is the moment I have both dreaded and looked forward to all
summer. My room is the same, but different. My plants are dead. My twinkle
lights are all burned out. Luckily for me, I threw in a new box of lights, but
as for the plants? They were not so lucky. The room is clean, swept, dusted and
even looks a bit sterile for my office. I keep my house pretty pristine, but my
offices at home and at school take the beating. I smile as I look around at the
neatness. It won’t last long.
I try to settle in to work, but I daydream a bit. All my
theatre show photos, the ones the cast present to me on the last show date, are
all lined up on one wall. They are not just pictures of shows gone by but
autographed by each actor. I go from one to the other, smiling and laughing and
definitely missing the students who have graduated and gone on. I always miss
them so much. I try to go back to work. I plug in the laptop, give a sigh, and
start. Once I start, the hours swirl by me. No one is there to chat or
interrupt my work. It is quiet, but not lonely. I schedule, I plan, I print.
Finally, at one point, I realize the twilight hour is fast approaching. How
long have I been here? I wrap it up, take a look around, and close the door.
How many years have I been in school? I can’t count anymore,
well, math was never my thing anyway. I do know there are a lot of years from
the coal mines of Wilkes-Barre to Trine. I have always loved my work, and this
year is no exception. Within a few weeks, we will be back in the rhythm, I will
have fallen in love with students I have not yet met, and the world will still
spin around us.
We have two teacher days and then a small break before
classes next week. I am taking a quick mid-week flight to Charleston to see
Holly off to school for her freshman year of college. Jonah starts his senior
year of college. Graham is a senior in high school, Brianna is a junior and the
twins will be ten. How can all of that be? Anyway, it will be great to see
Holly and watch the three siblings as the parents do their thing and take her
to school.
When Jonah was a freshman, I wrote an article about how to
do great in college. I have requests for that often. If you would like a copy
for your college student, just send me a note and I will get it right to you.
I will still try to spend a bit of time in my beloved
gardens, but most of my time I will be cultivating minds of students, and that
is a pretty good thing to do.
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