Today, I had a treat.  My beloved Madison Stingray came to visit.  Madison was my writing student from fourth grade through college.  Now she is getting her Master’s degree in Archaeology from Cambridge University.  We had a lovely two-hour visit that easily could have stretched into the rest of the afternoon except that another student arrived for her session.  Alas, I will look forward to seeing Madison again when she returns for her next school break.

These wonderful long-term relationships with my students are the best part of my job.  We become real friends in the process of exploring writing together and those friendships are irreplaceable.

Thanks, Madison, for taking the time to come see me. As always, it felt as if we’d seen each other just last week rather than several months back.  Of course, that’s a good measure of our friendship.

Happy travels back to England.