the end of an era

Today marks the end of the first semester. I have one more set of exams to grade and then I'll be finished. Unfortunately there really is no downtime since the new semester starts Monday with new kids and new curriculum. There are many kids who I am losing that I will really miss and others that I find myself directing a "good riddance" toward. At least they always make it interesting.

I finished grading some papers yesterday in which my students had to connect a piece of literature to their lives. It was amazing what some students shared with me: parents dying, rape, pregnancy, abuse, etc. And somehow, in the midst of it all, they are suppose to care about comma usage, Puritan writers, and Transcendental thought. My heart went out to many of them as I sat behind my desk with pen in-hand. What do you write at the bottom of a paper like that? I found my mind racing with responses and my hand failing to write. Then, I found my mind void of thought and my hand waiting for something to appear. Eventually something came...

As I write this, David and I are waiting to hear if our new offer for the house we want has been accepted. Our initial offer was accepted, but we reduced it due to some new findings from the inspection. We are praying they'll take it so we can get the ball rolling. We have so many projects planned, and I just want to get working.

Whatever it may be, the Lord be praised.