Returning Home to a Mailbox of Holiday Love and the Festive Reality of an Impossible Two Weeks. I'll Do the Best I Can

My drive home was wonderful. Viola Davis's memoir was/is stupendous and I wasn't prepared for the immense emotion her story and storytelling would have on me. I'm not an actor, but I get the dedication and devotion of living a life of passion and drive, coupled with the everyday twists and turns that come at us in stereo. Luck plays a tremendous role.

I have been lucky. I have the National Writing Project behind me, plus 30 years of K-12 bliss with some of the best students and schools in the nation. 

Having to do a two and a half week research course with 26 students is almost impossible, but the challenge thrown my way. I will do what I can with the dedication I've lived my life. 

My mailbox was filled with holiday cards and I was overwhelmed with the love, photographs, and life changes of so many I've worked with and enjoyed throughout my career. Such updates are fuel for the work ahead and devotion it will take to continue excellence in the short lifetime we're all given. 

I won't take down the Christmas decorations until after the New Year, probably because I need the lights and joy to help me to sustain rhythm for instruction at a time when so many of us are exhausted, overwhelmed, and in need of a break from it all. Yet, if it is required by the University, I need to be my best to guide the students in my care. I will fight hard for them...work my tail off so they get a positive, productive experience. It's a bit overwhelming, and I know there won't be ticker tape parades, but I know it is the right thing. Class tonight and tomorrow night. We got this. 

And look at the Mutuskis. Phew...they were just in the literacy labs and now the young people are adults. Mom is an English teacher (editor of great books), and we do it for the next generation. That's what it's all about, even when overwhelmed and curious about why we give as much as we do. 

Okay, 2026. I see you. Class of 1990. Class of 1994. Class of every year ever since. What a couple of decades more. Education. Education. Education. 

That is the answer.