Little things mean a lot ...

I have a new job and thankfully I'm transitioning to a what I hope will be a better place - now I can practice as a decorator more conveniently as well as teach. When a job becomes like a bad marriage, like a bad marriage there are always reasons for staying in place: in my case, the kids and departmental reaccreditation. 

I achieved what I set out to do and did it in a far shorter time frame than had previously happened. I am both relieved and proud of our success. I say our success, for if it were not for my beloved Celt, two women, now dear friends, who did not work for me, and the students themselves the job could not have been done. 

What stays with me about the last five years is not my success but that of graduates who found good jobs and are still moving up the corporate ladder. I cannot take responsibility for anyone's success because they are the ones who worked hard, learned, and sometimes unlearned what they thought they knew. They gritted their teeth, discovered the ins and outs of being drama queens, raised their kids, married, held down jobs, divorced, got pregnant but yet plowed on to the end. 

Sometimes the relationships were stormy, especially after I became department head, but most times they were good especially with the students who knew what needed to be done. The really positive and life-affirming thing about teaching in higher education is that you soon see that most people are pleasant, hardworking and generous with each other. One of the highlights you see above: brought back all the way from Peru from a visit to a beloved but sick grandfather. That doll sat on my computer for years and now sits in my living room as a reminder of times past and a hope for times yet to come. 

To any of you who read this and can work out who I am, I thank you for teaching me so much.

"... give me a hand when I've lost the way

Give me your shoulder to cry on

Whether the day is bright or grey

Give me your heart to rely on

Send me the warmth of a secret smile

To show me you haven't forgot

For and and forever, thats always and ever

Honey, little things mean a lot"

So, in the spirit of life-affirming acts here is Auntie Mame's cocktail, The Sidecar

One part brandy

One part Cointreau

One part lemon juice

Mix in a shaker with ice, strain into a sugar-rimmed cocktail glass. Perhaps a strip of lemon rind to garnish.

Quote from Little Things Mean a Lot by Edith Calisch and Carl Stutz.