A New Semester

This week GVSU started its Winter 2010 semester. I’m teaching the same course as last semester, so I’m hoping things will go as smoothly as it did in the fall. I really enjoy working with future teachers. Most are eager to learn, and cooperate with my requests with a minimum of fuss.

I’m also attending another semester of Japanese language. I’m getting so excited about my summer trip to visit my relatives, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to communicate (or at least understand!) a lot more than I did the last time I was there. Eventually I’d love to go and visit the places I’m writing about – far to the north, where my dad’s mother came from.

It seems the more I learn about the land of my heritage, the more curious I am. I relished my US and European history courses long ago, but I didn’t spend much time learning about Japan. Now I spend a lot of time looking up things just to verify that the events in my story could have happened, but lots of the information I need isn’t available in English. That makes me more and more determined to learn.

I feel so fortunate to be so close to a campus like GVSU, and to have a connection with it. I never expected to be a “college professor”, and I never thought I’d be a student at my age. But this is where my life’s path has led me, and I’m enjoying every step of the journey.

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On the writing front – with a goal of 40K words in 35 days, 1143 words per day, I am actually one day ahead! The story is coming along nicely, even taking me on unexpected journeys. My very patient hubby tries very hard not to talk to me when I’m typing – mostly because he knows he’s unlikely to get a coherent response, or an irritated glare if he does.

On the creative front – I’ve made several quilt tops to take to my sewing group next week! Most of them were made before I started the writing challenge.

On the health front – I’ve only lost two pounds so far. A massive cold sidelined me last week, and this week my knees are killing me. But I made it to my consultation. I’m doing well eating low-fat, and there are countless recipes available in magazines, online, and in the super-duper book my children gave me for Christmas. I guess my downfall is chocolate. There’s lots of leftover Christmas candy here. Gotta get rid of it! Hershey Kiss, anyone?

Beginning a New Chapter

We’ve had three family graduations this year. My daughter completed her graduate studies and is now a licensed school psychologist. One niece graduated as a Doctor of Pharmacy, and another niece graduated from high school. It’s a happy time in our families, because these three young women have proven their worth as students and are now looking forward to a new chapter in their lives.

I remember the feeling of exhilaration each time I entered a new life chapter. graduations, teaching, marriage, motherhood, retirement – times of excitement and trepidation. Each milestone represented a time of promises to myself as well as others that this new life path would be the right one for me and that I would make the most of it. Would I have been so eager if I could have seen what the future actually had in store for me? Probably not. Things turned out quite differently than the scenario I had planned.

The challenge is to keep the momentum going. After several years, the newness goes away and without nurturing, the happiness can die. Excitement about the new job, the new school, or the new marriage can wane. The joy of being a parent is difficult to maintain amidst the pile of diapers and the sleepless nights. We all have our ways of dealing with the “letdown” – whether it’s working to improve things, accepting the status quo, or getting out of the situation.

I’m happy for the new graduates. I’m excited for them, and I know they will all do well, no matter what choices they make, and what the future holds for them. There will be pitfalls, as there are in everyone’s lives. All I can do as a mother and aunt is to be there, ready to provide physical, financial, or moral support, and let them go again.

What do you do to keep things fresh?