Back to College?

So I got an email from the head of the department at Santa Clara University, where I did my undergrad. I'm scheduled to sub for the playwriting professor in October. Well, as it turns out, the professor has to drop out of teaching for the Fall. And the Head asked me if I was interested in taking over for him.

What?

Visions of me in various Fall ensembles passed before my eyes like my life.

Then I emailed her back and said I was definitely interested. Pero, claro que si! (But of course!) Of course I had questions about time, money, etc. And then I thought: "Could I actually do this? Should I do this?"

I called the Drummer to ask his advice. Not because I was concerned about the state of our dating life, but because he also teaches. He was immediately encouraging of it. He said almost right away, "You HAVE to do this." Flashback to the Ex--He would have never been supportive of this because it's in a different city and it would mean that our relationship would be jeopardized, in his mind. Of course, this is not the truth, but he always had me hanging on thinking that anything I did separate from him meant that I was disloyal. I know it's only been five weeks with the Drummer, but he had no issue whatsoever. I like this guy. Well, that's clear. But I like him for sure for saying that.

And as far as "we" go, I'm going to commute back and forth mainly because my Dad's still fragile and my Mom's going to need my help. He also said something beautiful. He said that teaching only reinforces what you already know. It gives you the confidence that you know as much as you do and it also reminds you of what you know so that you can go and continue to do it better. Gosh, that guy just keeps surprising me with how amazing he is. That was the most touching thing he could have said to me. Besides telling me I should go and give this a shot because it will clearly lead to other things. And he said that for potential employers, it's better to be the guy who shows on his resume that he's made effort versus laid around for a year. And while that isn't true and I've been very busy, that's how it will look on paper. So I understand that.

I had applied for teaching jobs last year for this Fall and nothing came of it. But now I have the chance to put something on my resume. And I actually could still be teaching this Fall, in about a month. That's wild. On my old college campus with my professors as my peers. This is all incredibly strange. But strangely wonderful as well.

As this whole year has been, this is just another part of the great lesson of this post-breakup time. I have to go back for something. . Much like I'm dealing with my father and his health and going back into my childhood, there are things about Santa Clara that I'm not done with yet. I have to give back somehow and reconnect with the person I was back then.

I'm very much looking forward to the adventure..