As I said yesterday, any “thinking” blogging has been overshadowed by mere “linking” blogging this week, and partly because I’m trying to get into the groove of a project. Once I get my head in that space, it’s smooth sailing, but I do so many different types of writing, sometimes it takes a bit for me to switch from one to the other.

(And it doesn’t scare me, because I know that once I get there, it’s fine. I wrote the Loyola Kids’ Book of Saints in 6 weeks, during a time of year in which I was also getting my house ready to be sold, getting ready to move, getting a 12th-grader ready to graduate, etc…Once I locked into the voice I needed, it came very easily, and I do think it’s pretty good, myself.)

But then yesterday afternoon, after a phone call from my oldest son, I realized what else was blocking my brain: worry about him.

He’s in college, and it’s been an up and down journey, as they say, so far. He’s very smart, very capable and personable, but just…doesn’t quite ease into academics the way others do. This is a do-or-die semester for him, and I didn’t like his course selection, and I told him so – very heavy on the humanities, lots of papers, etc. I didn’t think it was smart. “No problem. I can handle it.”

And then last week he called, reporting on what this week would be like – middterm week. Two big history exams and three papers due. My heart sank. Why oh why?

And why oh why is it that his brother, a student at another college, taking five humanities classes, and who is much more at ease with academics, only has one exam during this middterm week?

So anyway, that’s where my head has been at. Taking his daily phone calls, giving him help on how to research Reformation Sigismundi (thanks, Henry!), and praying.

Well, I’m proud to report that he seems to have made it. Both of his exams went well – he studied exactly the right things for one,(French Revolution, Napoleon, Revolutions of 1848, Marx) and wrote 10 1/2 pages on another (Reformation). It turns out that one of the three papers isn’t due until next week after all (read the syllabi, son. It helps.), the Sigismund paper turned out pretty well, and he was well on his way on the “What is Liberty” paper for poli sci.

I hadn’t realized how closely I was hooked into this until his exuberant post-Reformation-exam phone call yesterday, when a huge weight was suddenly lifted from my spirit. Between that and the Science Fair (cleaning pennies with various substances. She did mostly herself, but I was still tangentially involved), this week almost did me in.

As I say frequently: Note to self: cut umbilical cords, if possible.