With Fall 2008 came my moving away from Maine to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Besides putting my Maine Mommy status on hold, I’m back in the classroom teaching English Language Arts to 112 eighth graders. The move was a necessity to hold onto house and maintain basic living standards. Like so many thousands of others in this country, we’re experiencing the big question of how long we can hold onto what was once considered a given commodity for the working middle class.
My dad’s cancer is back as well. He’s returning to chemo and a new drug combination with hopefully fewer side effects but with the same level of effectiveness as his last med cocktail. Prayers are early and often.
I miss the cold Autumn air of Maine, the rich colors of the changing leaves, and the feeling of being close to what Creation was all about. I don’t wake up at 3 in the morning and talk to God in admiration for the scene outside my bathroom window of a stunning silver moon or the sound of an owl on her nightly rounds, but in thanks for being well, being employed, and that I have another two hours to sleep by the glare of the digital clock facing my pillow and set for 5 a.m.
It’s good, it’s different, and I will never have that freedom of mind and spirit again. Hopefully freedom now will come without a price I can’t pay.
Happy Fall 2008 to All
Mel
