20140428.0644

Over this past weekend, my wife and I hosted my parents at Sherwood Cottage. It was good to get to see them, and it was particularly good to see them with Ms. 8. I am glad to know that they love her as they do, and I am glad to have gotten to renew some of the connection I have had with them.

Now, however, the weekend is done, and it is time to return to the working world. For me, this means a return to the front of the classroom for a week before exams--and that means, too, that I am doing some kind of exam prep with my students and that I will need to grade the papers they turned in just before the weekend began. (That I did not grade over the weekend may be excused, I think.) Some of the work will involve me sending copies of my exams elsewhere, since I have students who need such things done, and I do much for my students. Fortunately, I already have the exams drafted in full; they are ready to be distributed to students, although I am perhaps not as ready to grade them. (I am never really ready to grade. That part of the job is not unlike jumping into cold water--without the reinvigoration.)

The grading will take place on a bit of an...interesting schedule. Aside from the irregularity imposed by some students taking the exam at other times than those scheduled, I will have to negotiate it among my attendance at the International Congress on Medieval Studies. I am having a proctor cover the Friday exam I am scheduled to give (and I have thanked the person in question repeatedly and profusely), and I believe grades for the term are going to be due at about the time I get back from my trip. It should be interesting to try to get everything done that will need to get done in the days I will be at home and the days I will be away as the term ends. I will, at least, be done with things for a while afterwards, as I am not teaching over the summer this year. (It remains odd, although I have done it before. But I will not be traveling this time, or not as much as I did last; there will be a conference trip, but only the one, and my paychecks are still going to come in as they ought.) I will be able to focus on my work on The Work and on attending to Ms. 8, both of which have decided attractions for me; it will be interesting to try my hand at being a house-husband for a while.

All I have to do is get through the next couple of weeks. Things ought to slow down a bit at that point (although there will be other people coming over and staying at Sherwood Cottage), and I ought to be able to get caught up on things at last. It is something for which I am quite eager.