Today as I took my morning walk, I got an interesting comment. A couple sat on the bench overlooking the lake snuggled together to keep out the chill. We nodded morning greetings as I walked by, and then when I walked back, one of them asked, "Are you a teacher?"
I stopped and said, "I teach English at Broward College. And I've taught at a lot of other places." One of them said, "We thought so. You have that aura."
I said, "I'm going to take that as a good thing." They nodded and said, "It is!"
That encounter cheered me, as I had been feeling like a limping, hunched over version of whatever I am or used to be. I've had over a week of sore back and sore feet and sometimes sore knees and hips. The one morning that I felt more pain free was the one where I only got 4 hours of sleep, so I was in bed less hours. Sigh.
But the week hasn't been all grim news and pain. I saw an ad for a teaching job that lasts just 6-7 weeks in the summer, either in Amherst, MA or Chicago. It includes room and board and pays $15,000 which seems like a lot of money for part-time work. It would be working with high school grads, improving their writing skills, before they went to college.
I was about to keep scrolling, and then I thought, wait, I could do this. I'm free--I don't have a full-time job, I'm not taking seminary classes, and my other adjunct work can be done from anywhere. I plan to apply.
I like being in a part of my life where there might be multiple ways to keep my teacher aura burnished.
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