Wesley at 13

This handsome little guy turned 13 yesterday. He continues to seem more like a kitten than an old dude to me and he continues to be such a blessing in my life. 

In defense of being proactive...

13 April 2017: "They are all on the same track!" --my nurse practitioner today, explaining why all the nodes on the left side of my head and neck are swollen.

I am not one to get sick a lot or go to the doctor before things get bad, but I had a hunch that I ought to go when stuff kept getting and staying swollen (since Monday). And I have this weird bump, painful bump on my head, on the left side, right above my hairline. I kind of figured that the head bump, which felt different and isn't a lymph node was a sort of red herring.

Today everything felt just achy enough to make me get nervous. I called for an appointment and got right in. In about two minutes, the NP diagnosed foliculitis (the bump on my head) which my body is fighting, thus the swollen lymph nodes. One (pretty darn expensive) antibiotic prescription later, and I should be on my way to feeling better.

So I guess today's "listening" post is about listening to two voices: the NP's, who connected the dots of what was going on (I literally said, "Oh! I see!" in response!) and the voice in my head telling me to get checked out.

"The Old Chief Mshlanga"

12 April 2017: "It's just so...sad." --a student in my ENGL 301 class, reacting to the ending of Doris Lessing's powerful story in which a young girl realizes the injustice of colonial oppression, but finds herself unable to do anything but watch.

Sometimes I think that as a teacher, especially in ENGL 301 when I am trying to get them to learn theory and practice that theory on a text, I lose sight of the ways a text can move readers. So this student's comment--one instantly echoed by her classmates--was a good reminder not to do that.

"Man in Space"

11 April 2017:

"All you have to do is listen to the way a man
sometimes talks to his wife at a table of people
and notice how intent he is on making his point
even though her lower lip is beginning to quiver,

and you will know why the women in science
fiction movies who inhabit a planet of their own
are not pictured making a salad or reading a magazine
when the men from earth arrive in their rocket,

why they are always standing in a semicircle
with their arms folded, their bare legs set apart,
their breasts protected by hard metal disks." --Billy Collins, "Man in Space"

I hadn't heard this poem before, so I was delighted to hear it today while driving home from running errands. Well done, Billy Collins.

Better Call Saul is back...

10 April 2017: "For ten minutes, Chuck didn't hate me. I forgot what that felt like." --Jimmy to Kim, on tonight's premiere episode of the new season of Better Call Saul.

This show breaks your heart again and again, but this line, full of sadness and yearning, just kind of killed me.

Senior Capstones

9 April 2017: "Only the forest can tolerate such foolishness." --one of our English students, during the Q&A after his senior capstone presentation today.

I liked this comment (about A Midsummer Night's Dream), a bit of silly fun, quite a lot. Of course, we had so many good lines to choose from--there were 21 (!) presentations, all quite successful.

Three quick good things...

It's been a long and sometimes stressful week. And we are just gearing up for the big, crazy, busy dash towards graduation. So deep breaths and all that... But in the midst of the not-so-great stuff, I want to share three pretty good things...

1) The redbud tree in the backyard, more beautiful this year than ever before. 

2) This pin, given in recognition of my TEN years at Shepherd. TEN YEARS? Wow. 

3) This card, given to me by the two students I took to Louisville last week. They are just terrific and boy, did this make me smile. 

Plan Be

8 April 2017: "Everything that we had planned last year and having to cancel so much--it became like Plan B, right? And then I realized one day, 'Oh, it's actually the word BE. It's Plan Be. Just be.' And somehow...that just helped."

This insight from Rosenthal, shared during a StoryCorps interview with her daughter, just floored me. What a beautiful and poignant insight, especially moving because she is talking about the return of her cancer, a cancer that recently took her life. What an amazing woman. Listen to the entire interview here and follow the links in the article, too.

When you feel a bit unnecessary...in a good way...

7 April 2017: "I'm not ready to leave yet!" --a student in my ENGL 301 today. They were working on their final annotated bibliographies. These are massive, semester-long projects--real badges of honor for students once they are completed. I set aside this day of class for them to bring all their stuff (sources, drafts, revisions, laptops) and just work, asking me for help as needed.

And then--to my delight--they really didn't need me that much. They worked diligently on their own and--unprompted--with each other. It was kind of amazing to listen to them talk out questions and issues, offer advice, and help each other out. They hit their grooves and were working so hard that I had to prompt them to leave the room.

I was about to write that I'll miss this group, but then I remembered that I will see most of them in other classes next semester or in the semesters to come. They are a special bunch.

Farm to Fork & Sustainability

6 April 2017: "If I take care of the land, it takes care of me....These are my people; my farm--I want it to go to these folks." --a local farmer at a presentation I went to tonight on sustainability and farming. I have said this many times, but this is such a special town and community, full of interesting, caring, smart, and creative people. I am very lucky to live here.

On Trickster Figures...

5 April 2017: "I'm all for it. Pimp the system. Whatever you gotta do." --a student in my ENGL 301 class, during our discussion of Charles Chesnutt's "Po' Sandy." He was responding to my question about the ethics of the trickster figure in the story, a former slave who uses emotional manipulation to get what he wants from the wealthy white characters.

I find this particular student quite charming. He's from inner city Baltimore and, to put it mildly, he's seen some stuff, so he speaks with a refreshing kind of honesty, as revealed in this comment. He's also the guy who sent me to this song.

And yet another example of students putting things better than I could have put them myself...

"I Choose You"

4 April 2017:

"There was a time when I would have believed them
If they told me that you could not come true
Just love's illusion.
But then you found me
And everything changed
And I believe in something again.

My whole heart
Will be yours forever
This is a beautiful start
To a lifelong love letter" --Sara Bareilles, "I Choose You"

Sigh. Love this little song and its simple joy, optimism, and faith. And I heard it at just the right time today.

An apt description...

3 April 2017: "He's so aggressively masculine....it's annoying." --a student in my ENGL 204 class today, discussing Stanley and Blanche's first interaction in A Streetcar Named Desire.

I teach this play every time I teach ENGL 204 (and that's a lot!). It's hard to get students to articulate right away what's so unsettling about this character (and shout out to the film version, which is so amazing and helps make the point). But this kid got it and said it very well. I even quoted her in the afternoon class and was delighted to see a bunch of students in that section nod their heads in agreement.

It's back!

2 April 2017: "No one is ever as alone as they imagine." --"Older Jenny," narrating tonight's episode of Call the Midwife.

Lord, how I love this show. And this particular line stuck out to me on a Sunday night, a night where I tend to feel a bit lonely. But today was also a good day in other ways, one that I spent around some people who mean a lot to me. So yeah...it's good to remember those words above for those moments when I might feel a bit blue.

New dance move...

1 April 2017: "It's a Juicy Drop Pop." --Brianna, one of the two students who went to Louisville with me, on our trip home today, telling us about this ridiculous candy thing she got when we stopped for gas. To me, this sounded like a dance move more than something you eat, so I requested that she and/or the other students in Sigma Tau Delta develop such a dance move. We shall see...

Otherwise, we are home safe and sound after a good trip. Glad to have it in the rear view mirror, but even more glad that everything went well.