King of Monroe, The Furs Came Out Again

My first time visiting Pam Kelly was with her sister, Lois, who invited me north for a drink. Within minutes, they pulled out these leopard coats and hats and made me wear them around the house. I forgot about that moment, until yesterday when Chitunga surprised Pam with dinner at her house (he's home for break and we didn't let her know he was coming).

For some reason, the fur coats were out again and Chitunga was quickly dressed for show and tell. It was decided he looked extremely regal and like he was Congolese royalty.

He simply said, 'My goatee looks good.'

It was nice to take a few hours off from the grading marathon on Sunday to let the dogs run in circles and to have some Mac-n-Cheese. I wanted a little celebration, too, because a piece I've been working on for three years was finally accepted for publication in a research text on teaching refugee youth. I don't think I've ever revised a piece more. The email simply made me say, "Take a break, Crandall. You killed yourself over that piece, especially in the last two months."

And just like that, the workweek returned. Bring it on.