Hmmm, no more in front of the classroom. I had to trade positions and now I take a seat as I sit in seminary for the next 3 years. People keep asking me if I miss the kids, and I do, but I never knew solitude until September. I hadn't heard my name being called all day, and for a few days I thought I was hearing voices until I realized that there really was none. Silence did not mean that something was up, just that nobody was there. And I could think uninterrupted.

Yet now I can still talk to them through IM, and some are on Facebook if they can find me. It's not "Miss Jones" but "Check IM" and then they have to wait, and if I don't answer there is no offense. Still silent, but now much more intentional about conversation. The blessing of this is that what is said is written and has posterity. It's almost like writing letters back and forth when letter writing would not otherwise happen. We'll see how long I can handle the lack of noise.