back to school

The kids still have two weeks of summer, but Mark and I went back to school today. These first two weeks always feel a bit split; we try to manage to act as if it's still vacation, but we're really working. It doesn't help that both Mark's birthday and our anniversary fall during these first two weeks.

That said, it was a good first day. I have a writing class and a seminar to teach this semester, and I met the writing students today. They laughed (enough) at my jokes, made some of their own, and wrote fluently and vividly for ten minutes--long enough to get out a few paragraphs they then weren't embarrassed to share. Teaching writing is rewarding for me: the students really want to learn, they are willing to work, and they see results. I love teaching literature, too, but the results are less apparent, to both me and the students--I think they sink in over a much longer term--so it's not as rewarding in the short run. I'd like to work it so I can do both more often, as I am this semester, but I'll have to write (and publish) more to make my credentials a little more compelling, first. In the meantime, I'm enjoying what I've got.

Oh! And the roofers came Friday and patched our big hole. And it rained Saturday and nothing came through, so things are looking up.