We did it!



Gracie on her school rug working





A few little kisses;
doggone good too :-)

Fall semester is over; it's a wrap!  What a semester!  What a dog!  With five classes (18 credits), keeping to my code of quickly returning student work graded and commented on  has been a challenge.  I do try to keep my comments on student papers pleasant but guess I was not always successful there as one student suggested I include smileys with my comments to help students better guess my mood ( : /  :)  : 0 ).  Having Gracie as a constant companion has certainly improved my mood--no smileys needed there.  Not only is she a calm presence, but she insists on a walk or change of scene that I might otherwise not indulge myself in taking.  For example, though I love the Woodduck Trail on the Century College campus, I might have walked it once this fall instead of the many times Gracie and I walked it.  Had she not stood up to look out the car window with her tail wagging each time we turned into the campus parking lot, I might not have approached the days with as much enthsiasm.  Had she not been with me for the last class of each of my on campus courses--the other three being online--saying good-bye to the students might not have been as much fun.  Without Gracie, I could not have brought Hershey's kisses for our last meeting and called them "a few little kisses from Gracie."  Without those kisses, they might not have lined up to give her a good-bye pat.  Had Gracie not been with me at the duty day potluck lunch and long, long, long department meeting, my colleagues would not have thrown smiles my way--directed at Gracie but deflected in my direction.  I must admit that Gracie has more patience during long meetings than I have.  Of course, I can't take credit for her wonderful personality--she gets the credit for that--nor can I take credit for the training that Gracie takes seriously.  I have to give that credit to IHDI.  As Bruce tells me, I'm lucky.  Gracie is the perfect dog for me.  She is.  I hope Gracie thinks she's lucky too.