25 April 2019: Snuck out of the office before 4:00 today, which felt just a bit naughty. (I know, I know...still struggling with this.) Hit the grocery store with the hopes of cooking something more complicated than pasta or eggs for a change and then spending the rest of the afternoon/evening grading essays. And I was really into that plan.
As I unpacked my groceries, my phone dinged. One of my students--an English minor/Biology major, and someone I talked about a lot in my Professor of the Year interview--sent me a reminder about her presentation at "NASA Day," where STEM students who received grants from NASA present their research. She has mentioned it before, but this email, sent just as they were about to start, made me realize how much she wanted me there. So I put the groceries away, headed back to campus, and pulled into the parking lot maybe 25 minutes after I left the first time. (The benefits/drawbacks of living so close to campus...)
I'd been to NASA Day before, though it's been many years. It was so cool to go again and see this side of campus life. I certainly didn't understand most of it, but I enjoyed myself. And my student's presentation--on the patterns of hissing from cockroaches during courtship--it was, in my humble opinion, one of the best.
Believe me: this post isn't about me being some kind of ultra-dedicated faculty member. It's about counting blessings (something I've been doing a lot of), showing gratitude, and embracing once again what this campus community has offered me for years. Eventually, I did make that dinner and grade some essays, though not as many as I had planned. I even got a decent walk in. In other words, there was time for it all. There isn't always, but sometimes you can shift/change/re-focus and find a way.
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