Two Acts of Kindness To Kick-Start My Weekend, But First a Day of Professional Development

This week, I was nominated to be the Faculty Meeting Chair of the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions at Fairfield University. Although I tried to hide in my invisibility cloak, it was an unanimous confirmation and I thought, "Oh, no. These people have done lost their minds."

My first debacle was to set the dates for the yearlong meetings and I, with a failing MacBook Pro, sent out a document with incorrect and repetitive dates. Oops. That's what happens when you love you dog and want to take her for a walk and don't edit a document after your computer crashes. Glamis, however, got her walk.

Yesterday, however, there were two tokens of kindness in my door's mailbox: the first, a kind note from a wonderful colleague who wanted to thank me for a gift I gave her in memory of her partnership's loving light. The second was a copy of Rober's Rules of Order so that I can take my facilitating role seriously. I am hoping there's a YouTube version for dummies.

In all seriousness, I am honored.

In more seriousness, I scheduled a day of professional development for faculty near Hartford, Connecticut so I will be spending my day, today, working on assessment of writing, a school-wide writing plan, and a conversation of building a writing portfolio system, 9th-12th grade. I am ready, but getting here has done me in. The bags under my eyes are real and although I look forward to every second in front of a community of teachers, I know that I'm close to exhaustion.

It's that time of year.

Either way, here's to a Saturday and Sunday for rest and respite. I know that is what I'm looking for, too. You know you're an academic when you simply look forward to time to grade and plan for the next week's classes.

It will come.