Saturday Gratitude

I don't want any readers to think I'm living a charmed existence.  I tend not to write about the days of exasperation, the days when I wonder why the simplest tasks must be so difficult.  I don't want to give those days too much power.

Let me create a gratitude list that gives a hint of the exasperations while giving more time to the goodness:

Work

--We have a batch of midquarter classes coming up.  One class in particular has had a lot of upsets in terms of scheduling and in terms of staffing.  But finally this week, I think I have a solution, and while it didn't come to me immediately, it's one I feel great about.

--At one of the schools where I teach part-time, I thought I'd only be teaching one class this summer.  But this week, I got a call asking if I'd teach the short fiction class, which is one of my favorites to teach.  I said yes.

--At the other school where I teach part-time, I got the online faculty of the quarter award for winter quarter.  I have never gotten this kind of recognition, and people who have known me since my teaching days know how much I have wanted this honor.  It's a sweet moment, especially since I'm not always as confident that in the online arena, I'm as competent as in the onground arena.

Creativity

--I wrote 2 poems and three pages of a short story.  I sent a packet of poems to Pleiades.

--While I am sad about all the other kinds of creativity that I don't practice as much anymore, last night I assembled 2 baby quilts so now I can start quilting them tomorrow.  And there's lots of interest at church in making Lutheran World Relief quilts for Nepal.

--In terms of performance art, I feel like I was somewhat instrumental in helping our Festival of Frida event come together, and I also was a tangential part of a wedding.  Both events went smoothly, which made me happy.

Health

--We had our health screenings as part of the Healthy Rewards incentives that gives me a health insurance discount.  My weight was up before I went on vacation, and I am not one of those people who goes on vacation and comes back thinner.  So I wasn't surprised when my weight was higher this year.  But my other numbers are fine--my blood pressure, always in the right range, was lower this year.

--A week ago, I spent a half hour at the gym doing upper body work on machines.  Oddly, I hurt my left hand. By midweek, I was starting to worry that I had done permanent damage.  It was hard for me to hold my coffee cup with my left hand.  But this morning, my hand feels much better.

--I've been keeping an eye on a crusty patch of pink skin on my face; it had some skin cancer kinds of properties.  I went to the dermatologist.  I never thought I'd be so happy to be told I had an age spot.  We can put off the carving of my face!

Spouse

--A few weeks ago, I got a message from my counterpart at a different school.  The message said that he was having trouble finding anyone qualified to teach Philosophy--did I know anyone?  Why, yes, my spouse has an M.A. in Philosophy and teaching experience, although he hasn't taught in 20 years.  I checked with my spouse to make sure he could be interested, and when he was, I put them in touch with each other. 

--My spouse had a great teaching demonstration this week, and he'll return to teaching in June.  I was happy that he had such a great experience.

--He also wrote a wedding liturgy which turned out to be even more beautiful than I thought it would be.  I'm glad we've continued to renew his notary public license.

So, in a week of ups and downs, there have been more ups than downs.  In a week of many unusual stresses, I find myself at the end relieved that all went well.