Wednesday, May 29, 2013

clearing out...Allons!

After six years of teaching at the same school since moving to Tucson, I cleared out my classroom last Friday:

Come August, I'll still be teaching, but in a different school...Adieu to the classroom above, then...Onto a different demographic/academic set; a professionally challenging change, this new position, but a good one...I had been approaching burnout, but now, refreshed.

The past few weeks have been full of the uncertainty of diverging possibilities--I'm only now breathing, realizing where I'll be working after this summer's travels. Late nights of musing and early mornings of wondering, all while staying busy with workweek concerns--summer is here, and it's a teacher's time to catch up on sleep...tomorrow, on the plane. Tonight it's time to pack for a week-and-a-half of visiting family and friends back in Georgia and South Carolina. July: France and Spain...

Before packing up my classroom, a group of students were working on this:
               
The Château de Chenonceau. In about six weeks, my wife and I will be there! 
(This year marks the 500th anniversary of the chateau.) Ahh, summer...

The school-year will begin on August first this year...too soon, too soon...

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Here in the Sonoran desert--May into June, saguaros in bloom...

For the past several weekends, 
my run has taken me by this particular saguaro in the desert--
from May's blooms to June's bust, at least on this prickly arm--
the waxy flowers disappear as spring heats up into summer:

...and the creek in Sabino Canyon is dwindling down to a few reflective pools...
...shrinking daily, waiting for July's still distant rains...

...but the cottonwoods are still finding enough groundwater...

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Summer!
Travels!

So, now, 
some words for summer travels:
(from Walt Whitman; more about this here, at the maptia blog)

And a brilliant interview about travel and Paris among other things--
with writer Rolf Potts, also on the maptia blog...well worth reading...

Allons!
¡Vamos!




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