So the other part of that post is that I am also thinking about what I want my life to be like as the Snork Maiden ventures farther out into the world. This summer, I’ll drop her off at her two-week program and, most likely, make my way (with one or two stops with friends) to where Stubb will be wrapping up his out-of-town gig. We’re planning to drive home from there and have a few days on our own, reminiscent of a long drive we did twenty-something summers ago.
One thing I might like to do, eventually, is sell the house. I like our neighborhood and our location, but I’m not crazy about home ownership. I think Stubb feels more or less the same. On the other hand, it is a good size for us, and won’t feel too big for just the two of us. We are currently getting dicked around (I am starting to realize) while refinancing, and I hate owing a big bank a huge amount of money.
I think I’ll want to keep working at SA, although my chair at NLNRU has said several times that I should come back when the Snork Maiden graduates, and get the tuition break if she goes to NLNRU or to another school in its tuition-exchange consortium. It’s certainly another reason (besides liking a lot of the people) to stay in friendly contact with the program there.
I’m going to be mentoring a couple of students in a low-residency MFA program this fall, just working with them one-on-one. I’ll be curious to see whether I like that or not, and whether that turns out to be part of my work over the next few years.
Today I got a very nice email from an editor I sent the ms. to back in January (here). It’s a big press, one I didn’t expect to pick up the book, and they didn’t–but it was a helpful letter nonetheless, and it also expressed a continuing interest in the work that I think is real.
The email helped me see, actually, something that is out of place about the book, something I might actually be able to fix. I will be thinking about it this summer.
Because in the shorter term, no matter what else happens, I really do want this book out in the world!