On Wednesday afternoon I took the walk up to the mailbox at the end of the road. It was a nice day, with blue sky and a few clouds, a little bit of wind, and temperatures that were slightly warm for this time of year but pleasant nonetheless. It was mid-afternoon and the sun was getting low, and the shadows were lengthening as they will this time of year. There's a scarlet quilt of leaves on our dirt road. Our part of the world is getting ready for its long winter's nap.
One of the privileges of my line of work is that it follows the seasons, and I've grown to really love that. Our semesters start as one extreme slowly begins to recede and end as the other extreme takes hold. By now it's a pattern, and by the climate and time of year I know what work will bring: what the students will feel, the business that will be discussed at the faculty meetings, all of that. After a decade, it's a pattern as wired into my mind as the route I drive to work each day.
This time of year is closing in on the halfway point. When we report back to work Monday there'll essentially be two or two and a half weeks to go before we're sprung until January. For me, they'll be a placid couple of weeks. I front-load my dread, so there's really no heavy lifting other than students turning in final projects, and I build those assignments in a way that makes them manageable. Aside from the inevitable meetings (because committees always want to meet during all this "free time" we suddenly get, and there's always Ultra Serious Urgent Business that must be conducted), it's mostly playing out the string.
Be that as it may, this little respite in late November is one of my favorite times of year. I think it's the anticipation. I think it's the same reason Thursdays have a warm spot in my heart: the feeling that what you're really wanting is on the cusp of being there. I know if I hold out a couple more weeks, there'll be a few weeks of glorious freedom awaiting. (Just enough, of course, to bring me back to earth when it's time to report back in January.)
For now, between the beautiful scenes with the amber glow between the long shadows on a sunny afternoon, it's something to be enjoyed. The worst of winter is still a ways away, as are the stresses of the Spring semester. It's a quiet moment, and today is a chance to enjoy the peace it offers. Too soon, it'll vanish.
