It's the 2nd Day of a New Semester and (Smarmy Shrug) I'm on Sabbatical (Well, Trying to Be)

CWP summer programs ended mid-August, and I've been working on POW ever since, as well as tying up NWP bits and pieces as I head into a Fall sabbatical. I realized on this 2nd day of classes, however, I'm still answering campus emails, working through grant and site reports that are due, and finalizing the 7th edition of POW! Colleagues and I officially sent 4 items off for publication this summer, and THE WRITE TIME is going in full-force.

Still, I am pushing and moving everything to the side so (a) I can take a small break/road trip with Chitunga for an extended weekend and (b) return to CNY for a short bit to write there. It seems, however, every time I get something moved out of the way, another layer of musts arrive and they are always late and important. I can't wait to get to the place where I'm in the groove working on the research project that has been underway for the last 7 years. I want to drill into the data.

It will come. I can feel it, and I do feel guilty, especially given the period of time we are living in. Even though the University used its faculty every day of this summer to TALK about the Fall, the Fall actually arrived and, alas, it was as predicted. Unpredictable. I can say that 2-days in there are two things I don't miss: 1) meetings that are pointless and 2) teaching. I love teaching, but when one is given space away from planning, presenting, and assessing, one is given hours upon hours back to them. Sometimes I think administrators forget how much work goes into every class an instructor offered each week (and the same is tenfold for K-12 educators).

And it's already Thursday. I definitely need to read today, and am proud that I got ahead on some of my NWP work for the Fall. I'm simply clearing the path so I can focus on my intent.

What is that? Well, there's what I presented and was awarded, but then there are all these other items I can't wait to dig into. We shall see what comes of it all.

Oh, and going back above, there's also another, so (c) I can visit Amagansett, visit my grandparents where their ashes reside, and see the waves and 'tives. Hoping to make that happen, too.