August Travel in a Different Key

Today I will go to my last regular day of CPE, and actually, it's a little less regular than usual.  I'm going in early so that I can leave early to drive to Williamsburg, so that I can spend the rest of the week helping my parents.  

My mom was in the hospital last week, and my sister was there to help them through that.  Now I will arrive so that she can have a break.  We are doing solo caretaking because we hope that it will be less of a schedule disruption than having more people around--so one of us at a time, and spouses stay home to hold down the fort.

I need to leave Monday to be back to start teaching in-person classes on Tuesday (a week from today!) at Spartanburg Methodist College.  My sister might return to my parents on Monday, if they're not ready to resume life without help.

You might say, "Wait--don't your parents live in a continuing care community kind of place?"

Yes, yes they do.  But they're in an independent living part of the housing, which means they need to be independent.  In a week when neither one can drive, they need help.  We could hire help, of course.  But right now, my sister and I have job flexibility, so we can be there to do it.

Yesterday I spent time writing e-mails to explain my situation.  Even though classes don't start until Tuesday (a week from today!), full-time faculty duties start on Thursday and go through Monday:  faculty development, various meetings, and Convocation.

Happily I have been working in a full-time capacity for a year, so I've accumulated plenty of sick leave.  My dean and department head were wonderfully supportive when I wrote to tell them of my predicament and plan.  Similarly, my CPE supervisor is making it possible for me to do tomorrow's education day from my parents' study.

I have packed the car with all kinds of supplies:  poems to work on, books to read, my sewing basket, art supplies, and of course, this computer will come with me.  It will be a working time away on many levels.  I have syllabi to complete for both my in-person and online fall classes.  I have the final CPE report to write.  I have parents to care for.

But I expect that there will be some periods of down time, and I'm hoping to get a bit of recharging time in.  This summer has exhausted me on many levels.  I realize that autumn may bring a different set of strains.  But I am ready for the shift.

I have thought about previous early August trips I've made:  in 2022 to bring the first load of stuff to seminary for a year of on-campus housing, and several trips to Williamsburg to be with my parents under happier circumstances.  In 2021, we were making trips back and forth between the house we were soon to sell and the downtown condo that we were renting while figuring out what to do next.  These trips often seem like a change in key, to use a musical term.  Let's see what this August trip brings, whether the key will be to a major or a minor.