July 16, 2010
Back to School
Joe and Sasha (at Sasha's graduation)
At forty nine, my brother-in-law Joe is back in graduate school. This summer has been very intense for him. Classes every day, from morning until late afternoon. Tons of reading. Several papers a week.
It’s funny (and a bit alarming) to see him acquiring the behaviors of a typical college student. He is full of energy, ideas and new information. He doesn’t have time in the evenings for much besides studying. He stays up late almost every night.
I woke up around 1 AM last night and noticed that the light in the study was still on. When I opened the door, Joe blinked at me sleepily. In the midst of writing a long research paper, he was lost in thought and educational theories.
“Almost done?” I asked.
“Three pages to go on this one. And then I need to write another one.” He answered.
Well, I went back to sleep, but Joe staid up and wrote and wrote.
The kids, worried about him, checked on Joe several times. Mike, Sam and Nicky repeatedly came to see if there was something they could do to help. There wasn’t.
Still, in one way, Joe is totally unlike a typical college student. When I came down this morning at 6:30 am, to get ready for work, he was up already. Joe was writing in his journal, having a cup of coffee, and about to take Kaya on their early morning walk.
“How many hours of sleep did you get?”
“Maybe three, “ Joe answered. He was tired, but in a good mood. He didn’t even think of disappointing his dog. But as the two of them left for their walk, he got back into the mode of a student again.
He left his paper for me to read and edit. It was excellent!
Gracious Living - Day by Day 