It’s been a month since Jeremy graduated from A-School and spent two weeks here before heading off to Japan. I tell you, I am still not used to it. Our phone calls mostly happen early in our morning (his night), but there has been the occasional phone call in the evening (his morning). We swap reels on Instagram and text occasionally, so all of this technology makes it seem like he’s still in Chicago or San Antonio. It’s only when I open the Find My Phone app that I have to spin the globe to see his icon, and then I remember — yeah, he is literally on the other side of the world from us.
Becky and Jacob joined Chuck in Chicago for Jeremy’s graduation, which was nice since Jackson and I were back home starting our first week of school. It’s Jackson’s senior year, and I’m teaching 12 classes, so we didn’t have as much flexibility to travel that week. But, Chuck brought Jeremy home with him so we had a fair amount of family time before taking him back to the airport and sending him overseas.
Jackson is enjoying the easiest school year of all, though he’s about to start a 10-week dual enrollment class at our community college, so things could get a little tougher soon. Since he worked his tail off in 10th and 11th grades, his senior year is a breeze. He’s still working at the movie theater and loving it, and now that football season is underway, Jackson is in heaven on the weekends. We couldn’t be more proud of how hard he works.
In addition to teaching 12 English classes across three co-ops and online, which seems ridiculous as I type it out, I’m still working with a local magazine as the primary writer and editor. Last month we went to Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, where the photographer snapped this photo of me. Sometimes the job is mundane, but other times it can be a fascinating way to spend time.
We have a few things coming up that I’m excited about, but mostly I’m trying to settle into a new routine. School has been in session about six weeks and I’m already looking forward to fall break. This ambition to teach is a strange phenomenon, and even as I sit here a little overwhelmed by my workload, I’m still daydreaming about a couple of new class ideas, wondering which co-op I should pitch them to.
The cycle is obvious to me now — I dread the start of the school year, then get excited once we’re in class together. After settling into the novels and stories, when the conversations start flowing, I love it. But, then I have to read rough drafts in the double digits and I hate it again, and I wonder why I agreed to teach 12 classes.
Then, on the long walks I use to clear my head, I inevitably come up with a new class idea and start imagining what it might look like the following year. Never mind the piles of work I have waiting for me when I return! I’m already into the next year thinking about books and assignments like an idiot.
As the school year comes to a close, I yearn for summer and introvert so hard that I practically hibernate. I vow to lighten my load and make better choices, and then, after the pain of reading rough drafts has waned, I agree to teach more classes because I’ve forgotten about the stuff I hate.
And so it goes…
When I turned 45 in August, I made an inner vow to think more carefully about what I say yes to. I have already been doing this for several years, but I could feel my resolve starting to weaken. So, I’m back to creating stricter boundaries for myself. There is no value in running on empty.
Despite all of these positive things, we haven’t been without a little crisis here. Back in mid-August, lightning struck our property (not our house, praise God) and knocked out a random assortment of appliances, sockets, and fixtures. In the last month, we’ve replaced the dishwasher, both garage door openers, and countless sockets and fixtures, and made repairs to the HVAC unit. We are still discovering fixtures that don’t work! The amount of money we’ve paid out for this event has been painful, and this is on top of repairing my car’s oil trap and replacing the brakes on the truck. It’s not lost on me that extra income was offered and provided (via a mid-summer teaching job) just as this event occurred, but it’s still been a shock to see how expensive electrical repairs can be.
Finally, we’ve reached the best season of the whole year, which deserves a nod of gratitude. The weather has shifted from hot and muggy to mild and sunny as autumn takes the stage. We’re back to front porch mornings, and my walks are getting a bit longer. As our little town grows into a city from the influx of new residents from out of state, I remain grateful that we live in the county where there’s a slower pace, if only on the back roads.
I’ll be taking Jackson’s senior photos soon, and we’ll go on a short but exciting adventure in October. Then hunting season will begin and Chuck will spend his earliest mornings in a tree stand. In no time it will be winter break. (That’s a perk of living in the school year — there’s always a break around the corner.) I’m not sure when we’ll see Jeremy in person again, but I hope it’s within the year. Maybe Christmas, maybe next summer. Regardless, technology makes it so easy to connect, so the distance doesn’t feel as far as it actually is.