Commencement Phase Two: The Undergraduate Celebration (and a Gorgeous Day, Although Those Gowns are Like Saunas in the Heat)

Truth: I arrive for the student walk-by and faculty cheers, but I never enter the arena. I've learned from the years I've attended (because of particular students) that is is basically like cooking on a grill. The sun beams down and you fry. Well, unless it's raining and then you just get drenched to the bone. Since I attend the graduate ceremony with responsibilities, I've learned to bypass the undergraduate one. Still, I like to see the students so if I wake up and feel like it, I deal with the traffic and join my colleagues outside of Donnarumma. It really is an amazing occasion and at 9 a.m. in the morning, there's still a breeze. We stand in the shade. I can cope.

It's interesting to me to see the first phase of Little Lab for Big Imaginations, and the stationary crew who hung on for the years that followed, are now graduating college. Alana Planas, who graduated with a degree in Public Health and is moving to attend Brown University in the fall for graduate school, is one of those kids. Yesterday, her brother, Mateo (who also worked for CWP), graduated from Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles yesterday. Their mom attended one graduation and took a red-eye so she could attend the 2nd (her luggage stored in her faculty office). I cam to see her represent, as well as members of the women's volleyball and softball team who I've had ver the years. Also saw Gianluca who seriously wanted to go into teaching history, but then realized he's used to a fancier life, so has chosen law school instead. "I have to say, Crandall. Your class made me thing about the power of teachers and the influence one can have, but then the salary truth kicked in, and I just couldn't live that way."

Honesty is a virtue, too.  Great kid. Brilliant. I get it. 

I came home and immediately started laundry, patio clean up, and walking the dog. But then I got numb ... the kind of numb one gets at the end of the semester. Totally brain dead. Tried to nap, but was too numb even for that so I stared into the sky for a while. I learned from Dr. Beth Boquet that she did the same. It comes from total exhaustion...the pace of filling every second with the next thing, always knowing that you forgot all the other things. With no classes, much of this lifts.. Truth be told....it's the teaching that take the most time for preparation, implementation, and assessment. When you're not at the helm, there's much more time to take care of all the other jobs we're supposed to do. 

I just know that I'm going to move a bit slower (at least mentally). I don't mind moving more and faster, physically, spiritually, and psychologically. I need more non-thinking time for a short bit and that is what I'm aiming for.

Ah, the first Monday without the demands. It always feels good.