Floating leaf, a photo by Helen in Wales on Flickr.

For a long time I've felt like this leaf, floating more or less motionless in a little backwater at the edge of the river. While everyone else swam past on the main current, I felt sidelined and under-employed.

And now, suddenly, I've been swept into the main current again, at least for a while. I'm not sure that I'm exactly enjoying the new state of uncertainty -- I don't know how many students I'll have nor when the sessions will be, and everything is supposed to start next week! -- but it's stirring me up, getting the mind thinking and planning.

I spent today getting to grips with the GCSE English requirements. I'd already been through the materials for the first two weeks of the other modules I'm teaching. I now feel more prepared and less panicky, ready to float my way through the inevitably chaotic first week.



This tree is still alive and leafy, despite having fallen into the river.

Tags: photography