Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Derailed by a one-track mind

I'll be glad when my senior capstone students are done with their presentations because I'm tired of thinking about them and I'm pretty sure everyone close to me is tired of hearing about them. We are as prepared as we'll ever be and there's really nothing more I can do, but despite all my attempts to think about something else--anything!--the impending presentations keep hijacking my thoughts.

For instance: I'm driving past my neighbor's new sheep pasture, admiring the adorable little sheep and the big fluffy white dog that seems so attentive to the needs of the sheep, and suddenly I'm wishing I had a sheepdog to herd my capstone students' PowerPoints into the inbox.

Or I get to campus a few minutes later than usual and can't find a spot in my usual parking lot so I park near the President's house, and as I walk amongst the beautiful historic homes and lovely fall leaves, my thoughts immediately go to how dark that stretch of road will be at the end of the day when I'll be walking out there after my capstone students' presentations, eek!

Or I'm reading the agenda for this afternoon's Faculty Council meeting and I see a vague reference to "brief/initial discussions of miscellaneous topics," and instead of chuckling heartily I wonder when I'll once again be able to engage in discussions of miscellaneous topics instead of obsessing constantly about my capstone students' presentations.  

I envy the volleyball player who did her presentation on Monday because now she can stop thinking about her capstone presentation and instead focus on other things, like playing in the NCAA volleyball tournament for the first time in Marietta College's history, but I can't even think about buying tickets to the opening game until after I get through my capstone students'  presentations.

For the benefit of all, I probably ought to just hide out in my office until this whole ordeal is over, because there's nothing better than being done with my capstone students' presentations.

 

 

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