That said, on to more philosophical issues. I think I'm going to live my entire life learning, forgetting, then painfully re-learning the same lessons over and over again. One of which - and this is minor so you'd think I could get a handle on it - is that things are so situational. I need perspective. I spend like 99% of my time, teaching, tutoring, driving around the world, and dreaming of the quiet bliss of the house. In the midst of my daily chaos, all I do is think of The Quiet.
Today at the K-8 school I was talking to another tutor about this. She's older, doing this as a retirement gig, and she lives alone with a couple of cats. (Which I guess isn't living alone, is it? :) We were on cafeteria duty, shouting at each other over the noise, roaming around, when I mentioned my constant yearning for quiet. She nodded and told me that she spends her evenings reading (bliss!) but that after a couple of hours, she turns the TV on, in the background, for some noise. Not to watch, but for the company.
And I know exactly what she means.
Whenever G is gone, or when I used to travel for work, I would do the same thing. I've been thinking today that the only reason I value the quiet is as a nice balance to the activity and stimulation of my day. And it has made me thankful for the noise. The constant questions, the chatter, the lectures (giving and receiving), the conversations, the buzz of it all.
I prefer this over the alternative.
Remind me of this when I start complaining about the stupid questions from my students. **sigh**
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