20 September 2026: Yesterday, Hannah asked me how long Annie had been in WV. I was surprised that I struggled to come up with an answer. Everything from June on is such a blur.
But when I had a chance to think about it, I see that it's just a bit under two months. Not a lot of time. And that made me feel better about how she's getting on with Jo and Veronica.
That aside, she's just...happy? Like, contented and happy. Jo and Veronica are happy, too (most of the time).
And that's enough for me.
14 September 2026: Spent a lot of time today conferencing
with my ENGL 101 students as they work on their Literacy Narratives. Hard,
interesting, and fulfilling work—for me and them (I hope).
My last meeting was with a student whose essay is about how
writing got her through a very difficult time: a move to a new town when she
was in high school. She writes about having to figure out how she was in this
new space. How to move through new spaces. How to figure out a new version of
herself.
She is also bilingual and, in her draft, mentioned that, as
she wrote during that time—especially as she wrote music, some words felt right
in Spanish, some in English, etc. She also mentioned words that have no direct
translation to English, but didn’t give any examples in the essay.
“What’s one of them?” I asked her.
She paused. “It’s hard to think of one on the spot…”
Then she said, “Well, there’s estrenar, which mean to
use or wear something for the first time…”
I got so excited and really nerded out. “You mean like trying
something new? Seeing how it feels? Like…what your essay is kind of about?”
Bless her heart: she got excited, too.
Best job in the world.
