my careless contagion

Normally I feel like Evel Knievel. Being sick, I feel like I got run over by Evel Knievel. While the body is sick, the mind continues to churn, though muddily. I've been sick for almost two weeks now. I've had just about every symptom possible. It's been a merry-go-round of misery I can't seem to get off. When you're sick, priorities change. You no longer want to conquer the world; you are only interested in surviving the next two minutes. You don't care a whit whether anyone loves you or hates you or what tomorrow may bring. It narrows your focus by necessity. I think of it as kind of like being drunk 24/7. As long as you have medicine flowing in your veins, you are okay, even though you may be in a burning building.   I don't get sick often. And it never lasts more than a couple of days. To be sick for two weeks is almost unheard of. It's almost like a somatic illness, possibly triggered by recent personal disappointment and made worse by my r...

I am done. No more classes. No more books. No more teachers' ... emails.  As much as I would love to continue my education, it's okay if I don't. I miss my son, and the time I spent reading and doing assignments and tests and discussion posts can now be spent with him.  I feel grateful to have finally finished a two-year degree. I know it's not a real degree, but it's something . It may not mean anything in the real world, especially at my age, but it feels good. Once upon a time, I took an academic scholarship to a community college (based mostly on my ACT score of 29) for granted. Now, I am extremely grateful to have finally completed an associate's degree and to have completed it after more than 20 years' hiatus. How ironic. How I've grown. It's anticlimactic. It's just over. Part of me will miss it. Part of me was ready for a break. I've been taking classes on and off since 2017. I've barely had time for living during the ...