Tea for Two

RH came over for tea and conversation this afternoon. Mr. D was asleep, but we ran into her at the chapel while attending a drum concert last week, so I didn't feel as bad about them not getting any time together. I mostly wanted to talk with her because last year she made a huge leap of faith, resigning from her long-time job at Princeton University without having anything firm in place. She's landed on her feet (not surprisingly), and I had this feeling that it would be good for me to just soak up some of that courage. It was. Plus she's a great listener, and got me talking about what my hopes are and how I think we all might weather the transition. She said that at her current school , the folks in the admissions office seem often to be the spouses of teachers, that they bring people in as a package deal. But that she'd talk to the head and see what she could glean the next time they meet. Every time I talk to RH for an extended period of time I am reminded of what a gift careful listening really is.