"Why don't you think more of Mary Wilkins?"

30 March 2024: Just obsessed with this passage from Sylvia Townsend Warner: "If I had the courage of my convictions downstairs, when everyone was talking about Joyce and Pound and melting pots, I would have said, 'Why don't you think more of Mary Wilkins?'" 

I think I saved the entry on Freeman until this point because everything about it feels big to me: the things I want to say, the idea of limiting those remarks, my feelings for her work. So consider me a strong co-sign for Warner's question: why don't you think more of Mary Wilkins? 

Work Cited

Warner, Sylvia Townsend. "Item, One Empty House." Critical Essays on Mary Wilkins Freeman, edited by Shirley Marchalonis, G.K. Hall, 1991, pp. 118-31. 

Dinner and a show...

29 March 2024: Thanks to my rapidly-improving health, I was able to end this long, difficult week on a high note: dinner with Tim, Kevin, Cory, and Hannah followed by the Rude Mechanicals' opening night performance of Lysistrata. Just a perfect evening. 

Opening Day! / Three to go!

28 March 2024: Celebrating two victories this evening: 

1) The Yankees won on Opening Day in a pretty thrilling game that I got to watch online. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the return of baseball puts a little pep in my step (even when I am still a bit down with this cold).

2) I just finished my entry on Religion and Spirituality. That makes three completed in April (and twenty-one this academic year). And...just three more to go! Now April is the cruelest month, grading-wise, but I am hopeful, hopeful, hopeful...

Things that helped...

27 March 2024: Some things that have made a hard day (still feeling kind of rough and very busy) a bit better:

• The latest episode of Listen to Sassy on my morning walk. 
• Three great classes.
• Four excellent advising appointments.
• Two good student conferences.
• So. Many. Cough drops.
• A Diet Dr. Pepper at 4:30.
• Coming home to BabyCat and Jo. 

Trivia=medicine?

26 March 2024: Felt kind of lousy and definitely slow all day long as this cold persists. Yet for the three hours I was at Rumsey Tavern, I felt pretty darn normal. I joked with the crowd that they were medicine. And the crowd was really big--sixty-five people and twelve teams. 

By the time I got home, the adrenaline wore off. Feeling stuffy and a bit clogged in one ear. Oh well. Still think the worst of this is on its way out. 

Monday struggling...

25 March 2024: Whew--waking up and getting ready this morning was rough. I was more or less able to get through my classes well enough, but I was counting the hours until I could head home. I have stacks of just-in assignments that I really need to grade by Wednesday, along with some writing I want to get done, so tomorrow will be a busy one. But I only need to be on campus for one meeting, so that will help. Here's hoping I'll feel better tomorrow, too. 

Giving in a bit...

24 March 2024: Nursing this little cold all day, balancing rest with getting my lists more or less done. The "more or less" indicates me giving in a bit. Things will get done, but I know I need to not push too hard.

I had planned to go to a movie with Amy and I am bummed that I couldn't do that, but grateful for the book club meeting tonight via Zoom.  

Drag show!

23 March 2024: 

[Catch-up post...]

For the first time since COVID, the drag show returned to Shepherd. To support the cause, I bought a VIP table for myself and some colleagues. It was a great time, of course. 

[By the time I got home, though, I was really beginning to feel the effects of a lovely spring cold. Hit the sack soon after and figured I'd just do a catch-up post today.]

Early dinner break

22 March 2024: After a busy (and mostly good) day, it was wonderful to hit "stop" on the metaphorical work clock just a bit after 5:00 and meet my friends Steve and Kit for dinner. Time just flies by talking with them, two deeply interesting and curious people with decades of great stories. Before I knew it, it was 7:00, but we could have talked for hours more. 

Favorite tree...

21 March 2024: My favorite tree on campus is magical again this year. 

Forsythia

20 March 2024: I knew today would be a long day, so I made myself stop for a minute on my morning walk and appreciate the huge patch of forsythia by Rumsey Park. Just a pause to take them in. One of my favorite signs of spring every year. 

Second week back...

19 March 2024: Started the day off with an 8:00 a.m. meeting on campus. After that, I took a walk and then came home. From then, I worked more or less straight through until 6:00 and got a lot done, which feels good. Even better, though, was having a set-in-stone reason to stop and something fun to do: host trivia for the second week back. Another great crowd and just a fun time.

Two...

18 March 2024: After a very up and down day emotionally--and a 13-hour-on-campus-day--I am very glad about two things: my students and that I have two Senate meetings left.  

Spring Break Recap

17 March 2024: So that's (just about) a wrap on Spring Break 2024. All in all, not bad! I got a lot done, did a couple of fun social things (the Oscars party, lunch with Carrie and Eva, a Friday movie), did a couple of small projects at home, and caught up on sleep and relaxation a bit. Oh, and trivia started up again, too. 

I wish I didn't feel anxious and a bit melancholy about going back to normal tomorrow. But this rough year has just made things really hard. Heading back into it all just as the semester really picks up with advising, paper conferences, and everything else feels extra weighty this year. 

As I type this, I am thinking of ways to push back against the melancholy and anxiety. Spring weather will help, as it always does. So will blocking off days to work from home when I can. And writing progress is great for my morale. So...balance and boundaries, I suppose? 

Two over break...

16 March 2024: Finished my Ida B. Wells-Barnett entry today around 4:30. My goodness--it feels great. Two entries done during this break, with a bit of time to spare. The last part of the semester will be a bear, I know, but getting this much done will make that a bit easier.