Due to a minor medical issue, I had to cancel a few classes this week. I felt extremely guilty about this, but knew that most students would just be happy for the extra time off. Little did I know that I would be disappointing an adolescent not even enrolled in my classes.

Apparently, the son of one of my students eagerly listens to whatever his mother learns in my astronomy class each day. So yesterday, he was very disappointed to hear that class had been cancelled. He had wanted to learn more about black holes! Good for him, I say.

This also lets me know that his mother thinks about astronomy outside of class. And two of my other students chose astronomy topics for their public speaking classes this semester. I had several students drive over half an hour to look through telescopes at a state park Friday night, and they knew they wouldn't earn extra credit for it! And I was chatting with two of the other physics/astronomy instructors on Monday night, when one of our former students came by, declaring that he's going to be an astronomy major.

Why, you might ask, do I write all of this now? Because, tomorrow morning I will start grading the second round of midterms, and the poor students will weigh upon me. So tonight, I celebrate the ones who make it all worth it.