Joy like a Fountain

Today was the first day of summer classes.  It felt so good to be going back to a job that I love after two weeks away.  I enjoyed the two days off that I had--I was super productive!, and staffing Chapter Focus Week last week was important (more on that later), but this morning, I was filled with such joy.  I was going to get to teach again.  I was nervous, yes, I was dreading the stacks of grading, yes, I was anxious about dealing with student emails, yes.  But to be able to talk about something that I enjoy and help others learn about it, and engage with them as people, to see the lightbulb go on in their faces...Such a joy.  As if I wasn't already excited for the semester, after class, four students talked to me about the issues they were having in lecture.  They told me that they learned so much from me today, more perhaps even than they had learned the past three days combined in lecture.  I feel bad that lecture has not been a good experience for them, but I was so encouraged that they had learned something from me today!  They learned something from me today even though I felt like I could have done a little better.  And I was honored that they felt like they could talk to me.

There is a fountain out in front of the chemistry building that I pass every morning.  I love it.  It's a pretty fountain, surrounded by some hedges.  The sound is peaceful, and when the wind is blowing, I can feel mist from it as I walk by.  It's such a simple piece of architecture, but it can say so much more than you think tiers of concrete filled with water could.  Sometimes it reminds me of baptism.  Today, it was the epitome of what I was feeling: gurgling, overflowing, joy.