Somewhere this week or so marks the 8th anniversary of my starting my last semester of teaching. That occurred to me today as I stood too long in the shower, trying to make sense of my day. Eight years. The passing of those years has witnessed changes in my body, family configuration, hair color, skin tone and psyche. Time has passed. But one thing among many has remained constant: the reason I left a career that spoke so loudly to my head and heart that I was always a teacher whether I was in my classroom or not. I left teaching because I was at my breaking point.
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The extent of my love for Doctor Who is large, very large. I suppose it is somewhat more accurate to say my love of Doctor Who is great and my fan-girl love of former Doctor Who David Tennant is even greater. My husband knows of this and isn’t terribly worried. After all, I’m a middle-aged lady in the US…how likely is David Tennant to even notice my existence, much less leave his fantastically adorable brand-new wife…for moi? Slimmer than my thighs, that’s for sure. And besides, Mister Soandso has his own thing going for the ladies of Who, starting with Billie Piper. I can’t blame him, but what in the name of all things Maybelline were they thinking with that mascara?
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I’m smack dab in the middle of my life. I admit that gives one a bit of a pause. What have I done and more importantly, what will I do? An accounting leads me to believe that this year should be more than possibly the end of times. It should be the year of A.S.S. (Accomplish Some Stuff) and not just be the year of P.A.S.S. (Potentially Accomplishing Some Stuff).
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As I sat down to string a few words together, some television staples of my childhood came to mind. Imagine my surprise when I realized that it is no longer a week in review happening over there at PBS. Of course, since I stopped watching tv in 1995, I really shouldn’t be surprised that I missed Washington Week’s name change back in 1999.
According to seemingly all school-children’s favorite on-line source, Wikipedia, the name change signifies the current host’s desire to look forward and not just behind. And I can see the marketability of such a move, painting yourself as forward-thinking and all that. But there is also something to be said for reviewing what has just passed. For without reviewing one’s course, how can one ever accurately adjust one’s sails to meet the next headwind?
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For the past three days, I have technically been on vacation. Which is to say that for the past three days I have been both ignoring my normal life while completely living it. No, that isn’t a Mai Tai talking (or even my favorite, the Bahama Mama). What is talking are the primary roles I play in my life: mother, wife, writer, comedian. So the part of my life that pays for groceries and trips to Burgerville? That part I have completely ignored. Job? What job? I’m on vacation! But my kids, the comedy gig I have coming up in February, my writing, my sweetie…all on my mind most moments even here in Jamaica. (Well, obviously Mister Soandso is rather hard to forget, especially since he brings me all those Bahama Mamas from the bar!)
That tree there? It’s front and center in my favorite edit-cave ever. Although to be honest, I have had a bit of trouble staying focused on stuff like line edits and verb tense shifts. But do you blame me?
And this photo? A good example of what this vacation is: a combination of reading other writers (that is my friend Tawna Fenske’s debut novel Making Waves), editing my novel (that’s the 3-ring binder), and the very best friend, inspiration, and beta reader I could ever ask for (or at least Mister Soandso’s toes).
Yes, I’ll be ready to return home in a few days. But in the meantime, I’ll be enjoying every minute of this week on my favorite beach in the world. And something tells me that the scent of sunscreen on the pages of my novel will keep this vacation alive for several months to come!
