I haven’t truly had an academic summer like I’m having this year. Two years ago, I was new to the job and overwhelmed with everything I needed to learn. Last year, someone left and I picked up his duties for a while.
I had academic summers as a kid and young adult, of course, but I always dreaded summers then. The more time I had to interact with my parents, the less I enjoyed my life.
This year, I’m having a bit of a true academic summer. I work 12 months a year, but things slow down for a bit. I have exactly two meetings all week – during the school year, it’s more like two meetings a day. I have things to do, but nothing urgent.
I don’t have classes right now. My mind is not constantly moving from one thing I need to do to the next. I’m not reacting to residual grade-related stress.
It’s sort of a mental cleansing.
I started doing beadwork again, which I haven’t done in a while. Made some new medic alert bracelets.
I’m delving deep into my writing, and I figured out how to flip a novel manuscript I actually finished years ago but never pursued publishing because something about it bothered me. I just figured out what that something was, and I know how to fix it now. If I work hard enough this summer, I could have the new draft done before classes start again in the fall.
Lupus is annoying, but sans academic year stress, things seem possible in a way that they sometimes don’t when I get busy and have less time to reflect.
