Good morning, God, and thank you very much for this new day in our lives. Thank you for the chances that I'll have to be with other people, to eat food, to see and feel beauty, to enjoy music and wind and (today) snow.
It's November already, and we're moving quickly into winter--our next ten days look very challenging already! Of course, winter's going to come no matter what, but this does seem to be a slight bit early. . . . We have to get used to walking on snow and ice again, possibly for a longer time this year.
The semester is two-thirds done now, and we have just five weeks left, with two of those weeks being short. It's been a long and trying--though productive and fulfilling, too--semester, and I'm glad that we're nearing its end. It's kept me from writing here, as there always seems to be something new that I have to do instead of talking to you. That's not a huge problem, of course, because I know that you're in and around all of us, all the time, but sometimes these letters help me to process things, help me to come to terms with things. Especially when I hear or read the answers.
Right now, of course, my goal is to finish the semester strong, to make sure that my students get what they need and want out of the semester. My goal is to enjoy myself and to help the students to enjoy what's left of our classes. And to enjoy the holiday season, which is basically here already. I also want to keep working on trying to be a positive part of other people's lives--I want to be able to help them unconditionally, to be a person who contributes to their lives, not one who does things for them just to get something back.
I can't really think deeply at the moment, which is a pretty common occurrence at the end of a semester. My goal now is to hang on and to make it to the end, then to regroup and recover so that I can have a positive spring semester, too.
Thanks for all that I have, and all that I will have.
A reply:
You're welcome, on all counts. I do understand the way things are right now--the human being is a resilient creature, of course, but there are limits. In your work, you constantly use your mental facilities while you're teaching, and those are just as prone to getting tired as you physical facilities are. And the more tired one becomes, the more difficult it is to think of other things, to consider other ideas and concepts. Your exhaustion is natural and normal, and it's good that you recognize the need to rest and recuperate--and it's important that you do so as much as you can before the stress overwhelms you.
I sincerely hope that you are able to make the end of the semester enjoyable and productive for yourself and for your students. They deserve it, and you deserve it. I send you all my best wishes for a successful end to the semester. You know where to find the resources inside to make it happen, so relax and let them surface in their own ways, in their own time, after you call them forth. Take good care of yourself over the next few weeks, for if you don't do that, you won't be able to take good care of your classes or your students, and they deserve your best.
