Moonshine Junkyard

So, it all happened rather suddenly, and in these last few weeks it sometimes feels like I have been swept up along in a raging current as my career takes off almost without me!  I am now, as of last Tuesday, a college English teacher. I am teaching two courses this semester, one is English 51: Developmental Writing, and the other is English 300: College Composition. This all came about in December, when I chanced to run into one of my past professors at Raley's, our local grocery store, which is where I see everyone, so of course . She and I always had a great rapport, and we got to chatting. She said something like, "I heard you got your Master's degree?" I answered affirmatively, although probably blushing and noting it was some years back. (I was wrangling two very excitable, tired, hungry toddlers throughout this whole conversation.) She asked if I had any teaching experience, and I told her about the courses for which I interned (again, that was in Fa

I started a blog post the night before Polly's birthday describing the tightening in my chest as the moment of her actual Birth-day approached. Naturally, I felt overwhelmed with love for our cherished second daughter and at the same time (as usual) I felt the ever-increasing sense of alarm and even dismay at how fast the time is passing. I have tried to hold my daughters both close, to feel every moment of their babyhood and young childhood, even the tough ones, but especially the sweet ones. When I'm frustrated at how long they are taking to fall to sleep as I rock them or hold them or lie down next to them so they can hold my "ba" (that's their pet name for arm, a phrase and action that both girls have and continue to utilize) I almost always remember to check that frustration and instead place my cheek against their soft curly babyish hair and breathe them in and feel their warm snuggly bodies close to my heart. And yet, as I look back at photos and blog entr