Balance...

15 September 2018: This is the third weekend of the new semester, but in lots of ways, it feels like the first real weekend. That "semester pace" has kicked in. I've got lots of work to get done: grading, course prep, revising an article, making progress on a conference paper, and--in the back of my head--this other huge task that I just picked up (still keeping it vague). And then there's the other stuff: the lawn, cleaning the house, taking care of bills and paperwork. So what's different?

Well, my determination to live life a bit differently now. Take it easy more. Have more fun.

I left the office yesterday right after my last class ended at 3:00. Dashed off to a 4:00 movie. On the way out of the building, a colleague was surprised to see me leaving so early ("You're leaving now? Is this a New Year's Resolution?") And, dork that I am, I felt proud and guilty. Like a bad kid who didn't really want to be bad. When the movie was over, I thought about heading back to campus. (Didn't do it, but I was tempted!) And I found myself back at the office this morning...so there's that.

But I did take a few hours off to watch the Shepherd football game. Then I came home and got the lawn done. Now I am making my way through the papers I have to grade. Five more to go...

I guess what I am realizing is that a big old change in the way you approach the work-life balance doesn't happen overnight, especially when you still love the work part so much. And when it is the one thing you know you are good at. And when you can run towards it when the other parts of your life are hard or confusing. So, three weeks in, this "new" way is...strange. But we'll see.