Very merry earwax

I'd planned to visit my parents in Cornwall earlier in December, but a cold meant I had to cancel. 

It felt wrong not to see them at Christmas.  They must be longing to see me.

But how could I leave my own home with Christmas approaching like an express train?  (Express sleigh?)  My teaching has continued late this year, and I'm a little behind.

But then, however much time and effort I put in, would I ever be ready for Christmas?  I never do get the house as smart as I would like. And there's always one last card that didn't get delivered, one last elusive gift that would have made somebody's Christmas perfect. 

So I bought a ticket for a flying visit to Truro anyway.  Then I picked up the phone - I could just imagine my parents' smiling faces.

'I'm coming! Arriving tomorrow afternoon!'

Long pause.

'Well, we already have a couple of engagements tomorrow afternoon - Mum's having a visit from the optician and I'm getting my ears de-waxed.  See you then, I suppose. Goodbye. '

As I said, it will be good to bring my parents joy at Christmas, even if not as much joy as the optician or the wax-removal lady.

I don't have any Christmas photos yet this year so thanks to Mary Bee for the above.

Half Term Gift

When I started teaching, I used to hit the end of each half term like a below-par marathon runner, stretching out cramping finger tips to get across the finish line. 

This Autumn, after ten years in teaching I approached the break with my work (mostly) in hand and the feeling I could have gone on for another two or three weeks.  

Time will tell whether I succumb to the well-known teacher phenomenon of being felled by a holiday cold, even though I have resisted armies of virus being exhaled by dozens of students all term. But so far, so good. 

It just shows me how far I've come. One of the pleasures in teaching is that it is a skill which continues to grow over time as there are so many aspects, especially communication and really listening so one can identify exactly at what point a student misunderstood something. 

Having said that, I'm part time, so I have a lighter workload than many. However, I run myself as a peripatetic Latin teaching business and I work for five different schools/education providers, which brings its own burden of admin and communication. 

It's taken me a long time to feel on top of things, and it probably won't last, but I'm certainly going to bask in the moment and enjoy this half term.