Back in the Saddle

All good things must come to an end. So it was with spring break and the visit with family and friends. I enjoyed my time in hot, dry and sunny. The day after I left, it was cold, wet and rainy. I came home to jump right back into school, spending three hours at the library Sunday night after arriving back in Knoxville at 1:30pm. A student's work is never done!

My daughter (and husband) met me at the airport with a lovely vase of flowers. Megan thought of a great idea. She had gotten some shells on the beach in Florida and put those at the bottom of the vase instead of glass pieces or marbles. I was impressed with her creativity.

My Dad looked older and was moving slower. My sister and I talked with my Mom to try to determine which things my Dad was (or wasn't) doing were a result of recovery from the radiation and which things meant the cancer was advancing. I think we gave her a pretty good list of things to watch for. Dad knew who we all were, so that was good. It was good to be with my brothers and sisters again. We were all together for the first time since my parents' 40th wedding anniversary in 2000.

I had an interview yesterday for a student advising position with the University. It was a group interview - kind of like a moderated group discussion. There will be a total of 24 people interviewed for only 6 positions. As I sat there, I thought the interviewers will either think I am too overqualified, too matronly or not representative enough of the student population or they will think I have lots of good experience, a friendly face, and know the system. The "moderator" told us we'd know within two weeks if we got the position or not. My Computer Science teacher from last spring wrote my letter of recommendation and talked to two people in the department for me, so I hope that will help my chances.

Was talking to a friend tonight and he asked what was going on in my life. I was trying hard not to cry when I told him about the stress of work and marriage (primarily), my Dad and school. He reminded me of the good things - my children, my friends. We weather the storms and we move on, yes?

I was just scrolling through some of E. Sheppard's posts. I see she has been down in my neck of the woods! Cool! E, have you ever been down here in the fall? You really must come hike the Smokies when the leaves are turning. It will leave you breathless! Stop by the Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge for some apple fritters while you're here.

I must get back to my schoolwork. I remember when I first started blogging. The site I went to in order to learn how to blog advised to "blog once at least once a week". So, here's my at least once a week. Stay tuned . . . .