I'm reaching the six-month mark of my semi-return to work; most days, I have a student, and some days, I have two. There is also some copy-editing. I continue to notice how relieved I am to have these small tasks, which would have just seemed annoying back in my twenties.
My son is fascinated by the idea of work. "Are you going to work?" he'll ask me, if I'm just walking two yards to reach the bathroom. "Bye bye," he'll say, as he inappropriately wanders through the private property of a neighbor I've never met. "I'm going to work."
Finally, Josh seems to understand that ambivalence is a common response to "compensated projects." He wonders if life is better with work, or without work. He hasn't quite mastered an either/or question, so the way he asks is cute: "Papa....or work or no work?" It's like living with a little philosophizing Hamlet.
The SAT is predictable and tedious, but I get tiny rewards from my students. One grew irritated with my inefficient way of "scrolling," on a laptop, so he showed me the correct way. (This has actually changed my life.) Another speaks in a weirdly compelling manner about the indignities of junior year. "My school just cancelled AP bio because the teacher quit. She quit on September 1st. I guess I can take the class on my computer? ....Today sucks because I have a shot at a trip to an orchard, and I just want a cider donut....but my little sister is ruining everything, because she is staying late at a friend's house, after a sleepover, and....you know....logistics...."
Then, the parent-calls: "These diagnostic scores are concerning." "My child is now in the eighth grade....Does she actually know how to write capital letters?" "We have two weeks remaining....and we're not yet at the low-score threshold for Boston University...."
Meeting these characters has been the nicest gift I've given to myself, in the past several months.
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