Sometimes life is a challenge. If we believe the platitudes (and if we are trying to maintain sanity and light, why not?), we know that the challenges make us stronger people. I want to believe that. These days, I have my doubts. So, I look for those things that remind me that there is good. Good things. The thought that I need to write these down remains with me. Maybe there’s something about these recurring lists. Maybe there’s something about just writing it all down. Maybe there’s something.
- Seeing a former grad student today who thanked me for teaching her pedagogy class last summer– now that she’s teaching for the first time, she feels confident and prepared. “You did that,” she said.
- Reading a very insightful blog post, “Merit is Everything” (in higher education) that puts so much of the harshness of what we do in higher ed in perspective (check out the Escape the Ivory Tower . . . the post I read is a part of the “Myths and Mismatches” eCourse, which is completely worth the price [free]).
- Taking photographs … and finding beauty and interest in the mundane of the everyday
- Knowing so many smart and accomplished people who support and care about me
- Believing that there are people who aren’t uncomfortable or ashamed to be seen with me (long story…..)
- Understanding that I have unique talents and abilities– talents and abilities that many people do not understand
The mundane of the day that’s good?
- Diet Coke
- A free box lunch (ham sandwich, cookies, and potato chips)
- A fireplace (with a fire)
- Christmas pajamas
- Law & Order (comfort TV)
- Cujo Cat (my daughter’s cat….she’s mean, but funny)
- A clean kitchen
- Verizon getting the iPhone (in a few months)
Yes, I’ll write a book. A book of mundane good things.