Moving On

They say it's always darkest just before the dawn, but this morning seems to be bearing that out.  I was awake over an hour ago, and watched the moon sliding past the trees on the west side of the house.  It lit up the clouds and outlined the leafless branches of the trees that line the road.  It was almost bright enough to walk around outside without a flashlight--not that I would do that on such a cold morning.  Since then I've been browsing through old emails and just now looked out to see that the moon is completely gone and it's really dark.  So there you go.  I'm not talking about my personal darkness today, just making an observation about natural occurrences. 

I had intended to grade some more writing when I got up at 4:30 or so.  Instead I brewed some coffee and sat down in front of the computer.  Big mistake when there is grading to do.  Then I thought I'd just try a new post.  My imaginary followers have been complaining that they miss me.

Mostly I've been thinking about my kids, and their challenges.  My daughter is at the beginning of her teaching career, has a fine husband and two sweet boys, and is experiencing similar frustrations with the best-laid teaching plans that don't reach every student.  We agree that compare/contrast essays are the worst to teach!

My oldest son has a fine wife and two sweet kids, two bachelor's degrees and a job he'd like to trade in for something more interesting and fulfilling.  The job, not any of the other things in the list.  He's had an interview without a subsequent job offer, which is hugely disappointing.  I remember those days of resumes and interviews and long waits for a phone call which never comes.  But someday, the phone will ring and the job offer will be there.

My middle son has a fine girlfriend and a little apartment and a bachelor's degree and a job as a waiter.  He, too, is going through the resume and interview time of life.  This is such a tough time to be looking for a job.  I guess we'll have to take the advice of the billionaire who spoke at his graduation, who advised the students who couldn't find a job to just start their own businesses.  I wonder if the billionaire was close enough to the graduates' faces to see their looks of amazement and amusement.  Who has the money just fresh out of college to start up a business?  Sometimes when you've lived a life of privilege, you truly don't have a clue what challenges most people face.

My youngest son has a fine girlfriend and an apartment and 3/4 of a bachelor's degree and a maintenance job on campus.  Resumes and interviews are yet to come for him.  He's enjoying being a student--realizing that before long he'll be out of the cocoon and moving along into the world.  He experienced a bit of the world's reality in an internship for a congressman last summer.  Answering the phones and talking to constituents can be quite informative to say the least.  And yet that life will be ahead of him, presumably.

So all those challenges, all those daily hurdles to leap, and my kids are out there learning to make those leaps.  I spent so many years in the bleachers, cheering them on when they were in school.  Now I'm still in the bleachers, still tempted to get up and walk across the field and deal with the people who don't know how to call the game right.  But I wait, and watch, and hope that each of my kids sees a way to keep going, to keep playing, and to enjoy the game while they're at it.