Irony

For the past decade, I have been an instructor in the Distance Learning Program for the Carmelite Institute's graduate courses that are offered through the Washington Theological Union, a Catholic graduate school of theology (and seminary) in Maryland. I have been happy to have had the experience and especially grateful for the additional income during my recent lean years. Some years it constituted about a quarter of my total earnings.

After getting the library job, however, I notified the Institute that I was withdrawing as one of their regular instructors because my new full-time job and other obligations as a volunteer here left me less time for the work. I did tell them, however, that I would help out from time to time on an case-by-case basis.

When I mentioned this to Steve Payne, he told me that almost all of the Discalced friars and nuns who had been teaching had also withdrawn over the years because of other demands. Now it seems that I am being asked to take even more students than I had when I was a regular instructor on staff!

The extra income (again, not big bucks) is always helpful, although they do not withhold anything for taxes and so on, and it actually makes my income taxes more complicated. (Ask poor Tom who does them for me!) I guess I am committed to follow through with the students I have for the year, but I may have to make a clean break by 2011.

You probably can't tell in this tiny picture, but that is me in the middle on the left-hand side of all those headshots up there. Steve is in the middle on the opposite side, with his head turned to the side.