Two weeks ago, I signed the papers to buy my first house.

One week ago, Le Sallay called, said they couldn’t afford two literature teachers, and that I was not it.

This week, I’m moving my cats to their new home.

Let’s just say none of this was foreseen.

But it has reminded me to hold fast to what Michael Downs remarked: “The unexpected doesn’t have to be dread inducing. The unexpected can also be the reason you get up in the morning.“

***

Though I’m prickly about getting the sack barely six weeks out from the start of the school year, the words of Epictetus come to mind: “Everything has two handles, one by which you can carry it, the other by which you cannot.”

The cannot handle holds the unpleasantness, loss, unsaid goodbyes to my lovely students. All of which are real things.

What I can hold this reality by is trust that there are other opportunities, gratitude for those heartbreakingly great kids who shared their stories with me, affection for the colleagues who enriched my life in many ways.

What’s next?

Who knows

Not I.

I’ve got cats to move, pictures to hang, boxes to unpack.

Everything is open. Anything is possible.

What I can say is the blogging will continue. The learning will continue. Once the moment is right, the teaching will continue.

Coming up soon on the blog, an interview I am thrilled to share, with the poet, educator, gardener, creator, wise woman and dear friend Melissa Madenski. She is a hero; one of the most generous, warm, fully alive human beings I have the privilege to know.

It is a huge honor to share her words and stories.

Stay tuned!

How do you face the unexpected? All advice welcome! Hit me in the comments please — I deleted my Twitter account because, X.