What's Next?

My Dad never graduated from high school, because he got too tall for the desks. At least, that’s what he told me. He used to flex his knees and break the flat surface away from the seat, an activity which landed him in the principal’s office one too many times. In spite of not graduating, he was the most avid reader I’ve ever met—except for my Mom, who read just as much and maybe more. She used to get up early just to have an hour to read. It’s easy to understand why they felt it was important for me to learn to read as soon as I could hold a book. Daddy’s favorite teaching method was the daily comic pages. In those days, my city had both a morning and evening edition of the newspaper, so twice a day I got to snuggle onto his lap and “help” him read the funnies. That lasted for about six months; after that, I had learned enough words so that I read the funnies to him. Mom didn’t criticize, but she did read me regular kids’ books, so that I wouldn’t think the world was all jokes ...

On Monday, two days from now, I will arise at 6 a.m. to teach an 8 a.m. class of conditional college freshmen. They are EIP students--Eagle Incentive Program--who have the potential skills to survive in college, but must prove themselves by taking three courses over five weeks in the summer. I've done this once before, and the students really give it their all, because they really want to be in college and away from Mom and Dad. The class is ENGL 1101-- a class I have taught many times before, but not five days a week for five weeks. It took some work to revise my syllabus, but I think I can get all of the important information across in that short period of time. Best of all, the end result is a summer paycheck, something most adjunct faculty are very grateful to have. I am feeling a little ambivalent. My heart has retired, but my body still has to work for a semester. I hesitate to wish my life away, yet here I am, confessing to my blog that I am doing just that. This summe...