Still Afloat

Arctic Loon on Water (Gavia arctica)

Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

I have been away from this blog for quite some time. The beginning of the academic year kicked in, and there was no turning back from grading, class preparation, and connecting with students.

I think I hit my creative peak here in the heart of summer at precisely the point when income plummets.

Perhaps this summer I should learn from ducks adept at diving for snails and other food. Keep treading water, stay mindful, and look nonchalant...life forms of some type are sure to manifest sooner or later.

In one month, I have lost two cherished first cousins...one local and several decades older than me...she was a Holocaust survivor...and the other, in Germany, just a few years older than me. My cousin in Germany had suffered a serious surgical mishap while pregnant nearly 24 years ago and became disabled. Her teaching career was over. Nevertheless, she found a way to stay creative even with limited use of one arm. My local cousin carried her anguished history very privately but had extraordinary creative gifts as well...In memory of both, I am giving a small gift to Notre Dame College's Tolerance Center.

My family is dispersed, and the numbers are further declining; it is very possible to be lonely. A former student of mine, Olive Robinson, told me that she made the whole world her family when she lost both parents at an early age. That is admirable.