... Spring! metaphorical pruning and feeling lighter...

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

In my last post, I was discussing my proverbial winter cloud and how my over-commitment was catching up with me. Then I was asked by the Faculty Development Fellow to participate as a where the topic was Just Say No! Service without over-commitment… of course I said, “Yes”. Turns out I was exhibit A- what not to do. Oy!

Spring is a time for growth and sometimes that hurts a bit. I’ve been practicing pruning back parts of my commitments. My week was busy and I was anxious. I had to have a meeting with the big boss in order to resign from a position that is no longer right for me. I’m actually glad that I filled up my week with activity so I didn’t have much time to think about it.

Birthday Brunch dress

But as with pruning, a gardener never cuts back the entire plant. This week I said “Yes” to some international visitors who wished to observe my class and discuss teaching pedagogy related to my research. Saying “Yes” to that was actually life-changing. I've been given some truly awesome opportunities at my workplace and this one was among my favorite. I was crazy emotional about it and even cried (I cry; that’s just me). These visitors were from the land of my ancestors and my appearance resembled theirs much more than it resembles folks from my own country. There were multiple languages and interpreting galore. I was in complete awe. I’ve had four languages occurring in a class before but this was something special. It was a little bit like finding one’s home for the first time. I was also listening to the language that I would have spoken had my grandparents not immigrated to the States. Sadly, it’s so very American for us to stop speaking our family language. As a youngin’, I thought my dad was simply making up words but he was actually speaking the words that he heard his parents use. I never met my paternal grandparents. They died before I was even born. The only word of their language that I can recall is gotchies (underwear)- sigh.

A BIG present from Mom

My parents are aging and I am aging. It’s hard not to reflect when one is a walker of cemeteries. Last weekend, and one of the reasons that I didn’t have a chance to write a post—along with it being midterm week, I had a birthday brunch with my family which we postponed from a few weeks ago because of the icy conditions. My mom gave me a giant book bag for a present. It’s a bit difficult to see how large this actually is but it’s the size of a messenger bag. I really just want to stock it with books and giggle.

My Kay Adams obsession continues

I am feeling lighter. If I can just make it through one more workday, Spring Break is upon me. This is a time to move and have some new adventures… while I do have a few writing assignments that I HAVE TO complete during break. Spring brings some exciting opportunities. I have upcoming conferences, cemetery tours, and historic places to visit. I will also be participating in this Hollywood Cemetery event!