Never Like This Again
I say good-bye to another class of freshmen today. I’m always overwhelmed with the thought that never again will we all be together like this, in this way. But for this year, in this time of their lives, we were. Oh, we were! I ask each one what they’ll take from the class, and it’s […]
Second Guessing
I’ve been thinking about confidence lately. A student hands me a paper and says, “You are going to love this. This is an A paper.” He’s beaming. He’s standing tall. He’s not coming off as arrogant or presumptuous either; he speaks like he’s stating a simple fact. And I get the strangest feeling that he’s […]
Would He Give Him a Stone?
I read in Matthew 7:7-11 something so beautiful to remember: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if […]
Rare and Beautiful Treasure
In Proverbs 24: 3-4, we read that “through wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” We host a big Christmas party for all the graduate students last night. So many of them come to find me in the kitchen. They […]
Never Once Moved
I go out for a walk alone, and I notice the bright winter sun. It’s so strange how I strain for that sunshine on my face as if the sun is the one who moved away. It never moved; it stays there, fixed, and I obit around it. My perception of its warmth changes each […]
They Remember It Differently
Today, we start making Christmas cookies. I’ve written in years past all about the explosion of sprinkles and various motherhood lessons along the way. I’ve written about how I can measure my daughter’s growth and maturity based on how well the baking and decorating goes. So it all begins again today: the butter, the sugar, […]
A Little Crack of Light
With all those student stories thick in my mind, I leave my house for a doctor’s appointment. I want to interact with nobody. It’s that kind of morning, and as an extrovert, you know it means something if I don’t want to talk. I give off all the signals: glasses on, sweatpants, hair in a […]
Once You Know Their Story
They arrive with their stories–at least the beginnings of them. They can write anything at all for this memoir assignment, any single event from their lives. We talk about all the technicalities: vivid verbs and adjectives to set a mood, precise characterization, sensory detail, and dialogue. We talk about pace. We talk about offering that […]
Giving Folks Honest Feedback
It’s that time of the semester when students come to me in tears about their grades. They realize it’s too late; no amount of begging or remorse changes the reality of the grade. I loathe grading. It’s my least favorite part of my job. Yes, it’s time consuming, tedious, and repetitive, but that’s not the reason […]
Go Forth!
This morning I remember Isaiah 55:12: “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before youand all the trees of the fields will clap their hands.” Some days I feel like this; the whole world bursts into song. I see signs and symbols–in the mountains and […]