Summer in, summer out...
Alright, so maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit but I simply cannot believe how quickly this summer is flying by. It is mid-August already, only a few more weeks until school starts up again, though I will be on the other end of the grade book this year - that's right: I finally secured a teaching position for the fall!! I am very pleased to announce that I will be teaching American History at one of the most prestigious public high schools in New Jersey. I am absolutely thrilled, although this means the oncoming weeks will be a stress-fest, full of lesson planning and attempting to piece everything together before I find myself in front of a classroom.
The past two months have been a blur; graduation brought only transient relief, the subsequent weeks quickly filled with studying for certification exams, writing cover letters and applying for positions. Needless to say, I have been a wretched companion: constant complaining to the ones nearest to me and a complete lack of communication with those placing a close second, you included, love. At the risk of sounding redundant, I apologize for my long-standing delinquency in posting anything of substance. A summer meant for poetry and adventure was lost to paperwork and wasted hours of worry. I let the sour note I started on (read: Scandinavian excursion successfully undermined by pesky volcano) get the best of me. A year older and wiser (the latter is questionable) and I should have known better...
Oh well, I still have a few weeks left to redeem myself and send the summer off with a proper farewell. Any ideas? Sissy and I are debating a trip to Montreal, la ville aux cent clochers. We'll see. I have been itching to go somewhere new, particularly after the eruption in Iceland destroyed our hopes of making it over to the motherland - or, err, great-grandfatherland (Pappa Harald hailed from Sweden)... With my new academic responsibilities I have limited free time, but I am determined to make the best of it. I am especially excited for the much-needed paychecks that will find their way into my bank account once September arrives, and the countless possibilities that a pocket full of cash and a bit of ambition can afford you. If anyone wants to contribute to the latest to-do list, I am all ears. A penny for your thoughts :)
It is nice to be back, my dear. Let's not lose each other again.
I missed you.
-jl.
