Closer

Every day brings me closer to the end of the academic year and of saying goodbye to another bunch of great students, all of whom I will miss greatly, as always. I do not know yet if I will have a job next semester, but it seems likely I will have at least one class to teach--which works just fine for me.

This has been, beyond a doubt, the most difficult teaching year for me, these months after my sister's death. It takes a long time to integrate something like this, and I look forward to a summer of reflecting and trying to incorporate this loss into my psyche. I feel as if I have been walking around with my body and mind twisted in slightly wrong directions all year. It is the old path everyone travels, from shock to numbness to anger, then finally, at some point, it becomes part of the fabric of life.