Day 90: TGIF

Gracie at the office, ready for duty

The three days we spent going to and being on the campus this week helped both Gracie and me prepare for next week.  She likes to know what's what and what to expect.  Once she does, she gets behind whatever it is.  I learned this about her going to Twins' games this summer.  At the first one, I thought, What are we doing?  What am I doing?  This is no place for a dog!!  But by the second game, Gracie and I had a program, a plan, and the experience was better for both of us.  Last night at the Twins game (Twins vs. Yankees), Gracie performed better than the Twins!  Gracie also caught on to biking and kayaking after a time.  So by Friday, we had a plan for the class days that start next week: park in the faculty lot even though we will be getting to the campus very early, stop on the way in for a "hurry up," go to the third floor to my office to drop off stuff and get her rug (and other materials for class), go to class or, on two days, the writing center.  In the class room, I will put Gracie's rug near the technology cabinet and attach her with her extra leash to the instructor's stool.  This way, she will be able to watch me moving around while I teach the class in the same way she watches me while I mow the lawn.  Our schedule--how we will get ready prior to getting into the car for the 50+ minute drive to White Bear Lake so that we are ready to hit the ground running once we reach the campus--has not entirely crystalized for me yet.  Thankfully, I have the weekend to work on that...and find a good place in the house to hold Webinars with online students.  It's all very challenging.