Life's full of changes. I get that, but this class seems to be morphing at warp speed. And I'm talking major life changes.
One of my classmates took a several month leave of absence to have back surgery.
We lost one to excessive absence.
Another asked me to recommend a lawyer. While he was out to dinner the week before last, he was approached by police and charged with felony assault -- the unexpected result of a bar fight he had several months ago. He didn't seem particularly rattled; after all, it was hardly his first confrontation with the law. The officer even called him a career criminal. (Definitely a new category of friend for me.)
While grilling during lunch service a few days ago, a fellow student gathered his stuff and announced, "Got to go. I'm gonna be a daddy." Who knew? Turns out this 18-year-old's high-school-junior ex-girlfriend (or should I call her his "baby momma"?) had just gone into labor in Page. Last I heard his girlfriend was a mid-20s mother of 2 or 3.
I only met these folks November 10th and we are heading out in separate directions in a few weeks, but we've got some sort of strange bond. Guess I'm lucky enough to have more than one dysfunctional family.