Why I do

One of the things I found when we were going through my dad's old teaching materials/stuff he had in the office was this:

I liked it, partly because it was my dad's (I'm pretty sure he had it up in his office at one point) but also I like the sentiment behind it (And yes, it does seem to sum up my dad, especially the "so you will be closer to an Infinite beyond this world")

So I kept it (with my mom's permission) and I now have it up in my office - I have magnets holding it on to my file cabinet, right next to my desk, where I can see it.

And I also realized this morning - a little part of my melancholy - that in some ways I am very much following in my dad's footsteps. Especially with the Environmental Policy and Law stuff. I guess he taught some of that in Environmental Geology, and I think years ago he also taught a class in it. I also found a copy of the old Congressional Record publication of the NAAQS (part of the Clean Air Act) and I saved it, and will show it to my class when I discuss the whole Congressional Record thing.

In a way, it makes me happy to think I'm following in his footsteps. I realized a little while back - all the paper we pitched out, that is really like the body; it's disposable, it's impermanent. What matters are the people he taught who themselves went on to teach, or to do good work in research or agencies or helping people, or the people who had their eyes opened to some interesting thing. That's like the soul; that's what lives on after the "body" is gone; that's what matters.

So even though I'm not having a GREAT day, emotionally speaking, I'm trying to take courage from the fact that I'm teaching stuff my dad taught me, passing that on to a new generation, hopefully making a difference.