One day at a time

I've been putting off updating this blog, partly because I honestly don't know what to say, and partly because I've felt too busy to take the time to figure it out. Obviously, the last weeks have been difficult. The silver lining has been the support we've had from our friends and family in ABQ, Tucson, and elsewhere.

Since we got back in town, I've been struggling to get caught up with school and teaching. Last weekend was devoted almost entirely to studying for my first exam in SLA Theory; since that test, I've put most of my energy into grading papers (which were turned in while I was in ABQ). At this moment, I'm down to the last 6, but then I have to go back through and make the final call on the letter grades. Sometimes I spend too much time deliberating (for example, between a C+ and D-). Ultimately, the difference in point value isn't that much, but the students certainly have different reactions to those two grades (I certainly would!). The grading has been time consuming, and particularly unpleasant because the essays are pretty weak. I guess I'll have to offer some kind of re-write option.

Since I had so much work to catch up on, I really haven't spent much time thinking about anything else. Maybe in some ways, that's made things easier, but I fear it will catch up with me eventually. I'll have to make time to work through my own emotions and to find ways to support Mark as he does the same. Right now, I just feel drained. (But, to be fair, I always feel that way after grading papers, and I've already done 12 today, which may be close to a record.)

The business will continue this week. Once my papers are graded, I'll have a pretty good amount of reading to catch up on for one of my classes. On Wednesday, I'm leaving town to present at that conference in Chihuahua. I'm not nearly as excited about going as I was a month ago; but my teaching advisor encouraged me to go, and because several other people in my classes are going, too, one class I would have missed has been cancelled, and the other professor promised not to cover any new content. So, at least I don't have to worry about falling further behind in class. The details for the trip are really coming together last minute, which I'm not really comfortable with, but I'm trying to go with the flow. It looks like we'll be driving a rental car down (no driver as originally proposed) and staying in a hotel (but we don't know which one). We'll all present on Thursday (mine is first thing in the morning), then drive home Friday. It'll be a long time in the car, but I expect to enjoy the company. I'm also very thankful to be coming home quickly so I can have Saturday and Sunday to do my normal routine and spend some time with Mark.

Anyway, that more or less covers what's going on at this point. It's probably time to get back to work.