One thing about working...

In the last few months I've worked more out of the house than I have in years. I enjoy working with students, especially my ESL students (who are quite a lively group this fall!). I also have really enjoyed getting to know the other instructors at IPFW. One of the nice things about working is having people to bounce ideas off of, to vent frustrations to, and to compare notes with (sheesh, all those prepositions were sure dangling, eh?). Writing can be a lonely venture, and I find that if I have too much time at home on my own, trying to plow through projects that I get a little too wrapped up in my own thoughts and troubles. Feeling a sense of usefulness and purpose is also a blessing of work--and that's especially true when writing contracts are too few and far between. None of that is to say that being a wife and mother is unfulfilling. But I believe that work, within reasonable limits (so that my sanity can be maintained) can work. This morning a new friend and I were able to vent to each other about laundry and dirty floors and whatever else before we each headed off and taught our classes. That was nice.