What a week

I'm so glad this week is over. It has been a little too brutal for my tastes, honestly. I won't do the daily recap like I did last Saturday, just because I realize that can be a bit mind-numbing and boring. But here are the highlights:

1. Robert's New Plan
I can officially talk about this now that everything is pretty well taken care of. Robert has been the most depressed and unhappy I've ever seen him these past five weeks. At first I thought it was because of the commute and horrible hours. He was going to bed no later than 9:30, trying to be asleep no later than 10, and then waking up between 4 and 4:15 the next morning. This was because he had his internship across state lines in the Eastern time zone. As the weeks wore on, though, it became clearer that it wasn't the schedule that was wearing thin (although we begrudgingly adjusted and with some difficulty). Rather, it was the actual work in the high school that was causing the problem--teaching at the high school level comes with restrictions and political hoops that are absent (or in a modified form) at the college level. Robert was actually teaching his students like a college professor...and rather than being praised for his high standards, he was berated and degraded. There were several moments when I was close to tracking down his critics (who I judged were criticizing unfairly) and wanted to defend him to them.

The new plan, then, is that he will be withdrawing from the education department on Monday, which will end his Masters in Education. He is, however, only two courses, exams, and a thesis away from obtaining his Master of Arts in English literature. He has begun the application process and will be reviewed by the admissions committee in the coming month. We have our fingers crossed for a Spring semester admission and a potential teaching assistantship in the Fall. Why such a change? Because Robert has always talked about teaching at the college level, for as long as I have known him. He wasn't sure he could be successful in the M.A. program and took the "easier" route, not knowing that the M.Ed. would lead him to a career in which he'd be miserable. I know he'll be happier with this new plan.

Yes, this means considerable changes for our future. Rather than being married and having him slated to teach full-time at the high school, we will both still be in school and relying on a smaller income. However, the opportunity for him to break into instructorships at the college level has presented itself, and we're going to take it as it is. I am confident that this is the smartest long-term plan for us.

2. Running class
We started running this week, 2 minutes at a time. Next week we move up to 3 minutes at a time, and I must say...I'm skeptical. I was struggling to make it for more than a full minute last week, and I'm worried that I won't be able to do the 3-minute run. I feel foolish because three minutes of running doesn't seem like a very long time, but it truly was difficult for me. I'm going to keep going and keep trying, though.

I guess that's all I really have for this week. It's been trying and difficult and drawn-out, and now I'm just exhausted. I have a ton of papers to finish grading today, so I better get through those.