Post Splash

All the things I talk about that make some folks jealous happened. Even some things that I was not sure would did, like dinner with King Jonathan and his family.

I have received praise for the class I thought went least well (of 8). My 65+ student class was not the disaster I feared it would be.

Hanging out with Beans and Galaxy and Natalie and Mish was fun, as was hanging out with Judi and Hilary.

Seeing Eileen, whom pretty much none of you know, but whom I had not seen in 5+ years, was great, as was seeing a student of mine from last HSSP, whom I had thought not to see again.

Never enough time. Ebeth and I barely got to wave. Lisa and I, as well. I saw Brian, whom I have known for almost as long as I have known my wife, for far too short a period, and barely got to meet his wife.

There were students who were missed, as well, Johanna, Hazel, and Mia among them...

There were students who would not have been missed - but this is the nature of the beast. And, in the past, those students sometimes grow into some of the most interesting or dedicated students and teachers.

more later...

Family

I was not looking for object lessons when I went over to play work with Theoden today, but I found one, anyway. Various times and varous folks were in and out of his home. Not too long after I got there, Dragon, her mom, and crazyprogrammer went off to Nashua to pursue a passport. Meanwhile, in the course of cleaning, in prep for Thanksgiving, Wenzel had set aside a group of video tapes had been set aside, include mini-videos.

The player for them, which is about the same age as the eldest child, whom I shall label Orca, was something that Wenzel (#2 in a series of 4, collect them, trade them with your friends) couldn't figure out the rigging of - it had a nest of wires.

After it had been restored to working order, some of the miniature tapes were set to run - and a bit later, a person peering into the family room would have seen Wenzel, Theoden, Guppy, Jodel (mom), Orca, and her S.O., gathered around the video, watching Orca and Wenzel in the bath, when they were both very young.

It is less about the specifics of what they were watching, but the fact that the bulk of the family just casually gathered to watch it.

I told them, then, that I could not imagine my family's doing the same thing - at any point in our lives. Tomorrow, I will be going in one direction and Susan in another as our family fails to gather for Thanksgiving. Schisms derived from hurt feelings, outrage over positions taken, words said... whatever.

I used to think that it was a side effect of money - not quite enough, but too much, as well. I have been disabused of this notion, which is both a blessing to me and a sadness. It was a convenient hook to blame things on - but it is a false one. It is personailty flaws or upbringings or something - but it is not the money that does it.

As so many of you say to me...

*shrugs*