Teacher Training with Tropical Storm

I didn't write yesterday because I needed to be on the road to Spartanburg for a day of meetings, workshops, and meals.  It wasn't raining at my house in the North Carolina mountains, but I knew that there was a tropical storm somewhere near the coast of South Carolina.  

I zipped right down the mountain with no rain and no traffic.  About 10 miles outside of Spartanburg, I saw dark bands of clouds off to the northeast, but the rain didn't start in earnest until later in the morning.  And by earnest, I mean a relenting rain, with occasional wind, the kind of rain that makes an umbrella useless, the kind of rain that made me glad to be stuck in my office waiting for it to be time to go to the next event.  By the time I drove home, the rain had stopped, and the light was lovely; I drove through lavender tinted fog/mist at one point and wished I could capture it in a photo.

I got a lot done in yesterday's downtime:  syllabi printed, course shells updated, having IT teach my computer how to communicate with the new printer.  The new printer not only copies but also staples!!!!!  I spent the last year stapling every handout, and I had forgotten how much time it takes--I am so grateful for a machine that staples.

We had good meals, which provided good opportunities to meet people.  I have been at more schools that I want to remember that provided no food at all, even as we were expected to stay for a day of meetings and workshops that lasted all day, so I am impressed/happy with a school that not only provides food, but real meals.

I am trying not to feel sad, remembering good schools that collapsed for reasons that still aren't clear to me; I'm wrong--they collapsed because of corporate greed that came in and eviscerated the school to the point of collapse.  It's such a breath of fresh air to feel gratitude:  my own gratitude, the gratitude of administrators--and it makes me feel sad thinking about all the times there has been no gratitude. 

Our new faculty welcome dinner had wine served in glasses, another gratitude point.  It was a delightful meal, which impressed me because we had all been on campus since breakfast.

I have a one year teaching position, and I'm trying not to feel sad about that, since all sorts of developments may happen in the coming year.  For several years now, I've been trying to enjoy the moment, wherever I am, while not knowing exactly where I'm heading.  After all, no matter how settled we think we are, we can't be sure what will happen in the coming year/decade; it's all temporary.  

I love this point of the school year, where I have plans and hopes, and I'm not staring at a sea of students who are staring at their phones.  Let me bring this blog post to a close so that I can get on with the pre-semester work of the teacher:  meetings and paperwork and dreaming of/hoping for a good first week.