Of dogs and students

Last week was nuts. Just nuts. Between the schedule I was keeping and the snowy weather forcing me to carpool into town the week felt like it absolutely crawled. Tuesday evening came and I was sure – absolutely SURE – that it had to be Thursday. There was no possible way that there could still be 3 whole days left in the week!

Part of what made the week insane was that it was conference week, meeting and talking to students about their works-in-progress. It’s honestly one of my favorite parts of teaching since it gives me the chance to get to know the people in my class as more than just semi-blank faces or words on a page or screen. Not only do we talk about their work but I get to share laughs about rainbow sprinkle-covered hot cocoa, cultural criticism on everything from global warming to vegan eating habits to Rocky Horror Picture show, and to hear stories of life-changing trips overseas or of the challenges of being a first-generation college student. I drink copious amounts of coffee until I could swear that even my hair follicles are jittery and I walk away mentally and emotionally exhausted, but fulfilled and simply thinking – Wow! what a privilege!

By Thursday night, however, after juggling all that my week encompassed I found myself so overwhelmed with human contact that at one point I literally stuck my fingers in my ears and hummed to myself. (Luckily this is Bellingham and odd social behavior isn’t frowned upon as much here as it might be in other places!) So when Friday rolled around and I was able to haul my stuff over to the house where I was doggy-sitting it was such a welcome relief. Skipper, the English Lab I was watching, is probably one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met. He’s fun and peppy but incredibly easygoing. For instance, when I decided to laze in bed reading on Sunday morning he climbed up on the pillow next to me, nestled his nose against my neck and flung one limp-pawed arm across my chest. For a few moments he gazed intently at the pages of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that I was re-reading and I could have sworn he was passing his eyes back and forth across the lines, left to right. Soon though he was snoring and twitching.

A good dose of furry critter was just what I needed. Who could resist this face, after all?

 And there’s just something about Labrador eyebrows.

Skipper, I believe, thinks he’s human. And I’m inclined to agree.

More faitfully blogging to follow (I hope).