The summer winds down …

I’m privileged

Being a professor means that I get a wide-open summer (well, if you subtract internship time and setting up classes for fall.) Most people don’t get that, but it’s part of the reason I became a professor. It’s a privilege I will accept gladly.

I needed the break

After a school year of drastic COVID mitigations, life not normal, lack of a social life, talking to nobody, the summer was welcome. Unfortunately, with the Delta variant, we may go back to that soon. But at least I had this summer to recover.

I admit I’m been a bit of a hermit, writing/editing and staying cool. But it’s been a good, relaxing summer, and I’m grateful I had it at the right time.

Two weeks left

I don’t know how summer went by so fast — I’m now two weeks out from the beginning of semester meetings. I’m contemplating taking these last days napping and watching British ambulance shows on YouTube. I probably won’t do much of that, because there are projects I want to do. (Really? I can’t think of any.)

Whatever I do, I plan to make the most of these few days, and be ready for the fall semester.

A Time for Nothing

I’m done putting together my classes for Spring, which was my task for the winter break. Now what? My mind is all for relaxing and hiding from my work in progress, but I’ll probably do something with that during break.

I feel like I could sleep forever. I just got up and I’m already wanting to go back to bed. I don’t know if this is latent depression or I’m just so relieved to be done with the semester that I’m catching up on time without thinking.

The semester must have been far worse than I’m registering. I tend to be stoic and plow through the semester with blinders on, not stopping to lament much (other than my lamenting about lack of writers’ retreats in these pages).

And now, because of COVID, I have no choice but to relax. No visit to my dad and sister, no going out shopping, maybe a stop at the Board Game Cafe if it’s not crowded, but …

So I’m working on relaxing.

On the Lake Shore Limited

So I’m on the Lake Shore Limited, barreling toward Chicago. I think I’m still in Ohio — nope, according to Google Maps, I’m near Goshen, Indiana. The train is apparently running two and a half hours late, and I’m hoping we’re not any later because we need to connect with the next train in Chicago, and we don’t have that much layover.

Meanwhile, breakfast was spent in the cafe car with the most beautiful scenery on the trip: the sunrise over Sheldon Marsh Nature Preserve, with a still pool of water on each side of the train tracks. The view was like this: (Click for video)

My adventure is close to ending, and the beginning of the semester is about to begin. For me, that means teaching human services classes at Northwest Missouri State University. I’ve already put together some homework in case I don’t make it home in time (as I’ve said, we’re spectacularly late). Here’s hoping for a good semester!