Finally, we had a beautiful day. Easter morning, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the temperature, while not exactly warm, was at least not wintry. AJ slept through the night for the first time in a week � he�s been having trouble adjusting to signs of spring that include early morning sunrises and overly jubilant cardinals. He was so groggy when he woke up, that he�d forgotten it was Easter and stared blankly at his bulging Easter basket for a moment before diving in.

In honor of the beautiful day, we bailed out of Easter Sunday Mass in favor of baseball with AJ in the side yard. My husband and son went to church later without me while I made one last pass through my materials for tomorrow and mostly succeeded only in freaking myself out. Must. Remain. Calm.

Relatives came later for dinner. I had an awkward but civil (almost pleasant) conversation with my mother. It was an angsty weekend all around and I wasn�t in the best frame of mind for starting a new job this morning. But once again the sun is shining. And I�m feeling reasonably energetic, despite a three-hour commute. The enormous cup of coffee I grabbed between trains certainly didn�t hurt. As I headed to the library this morning I ran into both my advisor and the advisor of the graduate instructors, both of whom wished me luck. There have been several small hitches today � late trains and the like � but nothing too serious. I�m wearing my ass-kicking boots in hopes of boosting my height, if not my confidence � for some reason one often yields the other. And I keep reminding myself that I�m teaching music, not nuclear fission. If I make a mistake, it is not irrevocable. And after I�m done, I have dinner and large quantities of wine to look forward to at my friend L.�s house.

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