Need and Want

We woke to news today that school was canceled because of a major internet outage. Still, there were piecemeal work-arounds, and I had a lot of work around, so I still spent the day at my dining room table, what else? Working. 

Even so, It gave me a chance to get almost caught up with my grading and emailing and planning. Plus, I took a few breaks throughout the day, making a breakfast other than yogurt and finally finding time to get out the Halloween decorations. 

In a few minutes, I'll go out and stretch my legs, and maybe run a little. I need to be back at 5:30 though because I have a call scheduled with my brother and sister. Today is one year since our mom died. 

She has been on my mind even more than usual over the last few weeks, as I thought back to last year at this time when I spent the last weeks of her life with her in Rochester, Minnesota.  Even though I was away from school, I was actually teaching remotely. Every morning I would post an announcement and links to activities for my students, which they would complete under the guidance of a co-teacher or sub. In the evenings, I would check their work and plan for the next day. 

I guess that experience kind of prepared me for the transition to distance teaching this fall. I wondered this morning if perhaps my mother was somehow sending me this day off from teaching. If so, I wish she would have given me the whole day with nothing to do. But to be honest, that wasn't really like her. She believed in hard work and fulfilling your responsibilities without complaint. And in that respect, an extra day to get my work done is probably just what she would have sent.