People keep asking where I spent my day off yesterday and I keep saying "In my happy place," but the truth is not really all that interesting:
I spent the morning doing some writing on a project totally unrelated to my academic life, and I got so caught up in the writing that I didn't realize it was lunchtime until my stomach started growling.
Then lunch: ramen noodles. Boring. Then I bundled up and took the dog for a long walk up the big horrible hill with the wind at our backs, which felt great until we had to turn around, when the sharp, cold wind reminded me that I'm alive.
Back in the warm house, I sat down with the hubby and watched three episodes of Numbers one after another without a break. Utterly frivolous, I realize, but much more fun than dealing with the contents of my e-mail inbox.
Which, by the way, I should have avoided all day long because every time I checked it I got more annoyed. Which is more exhausting, cancer treatment or faculty governance? I'll let you know in April.
Finally, last night I curled up on the sofa with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, a remarkable piece of reportage that grabbed me and wouldn't let me go until my eyes screamed from fatigue.
Today I'll pay the price--for walking away from class work, ignoring my inbox, losing myself in a writing project that won't feed my vita and a book I'll never teach in a class--but I hope my day of frivolity will strengthen me for the challenges to come.
If not, well, only one more week until spring break!
3 comments:
I've heard that the Lacks book is really, really interesting and well-written!
Man,
What is the deal with high achieving folks? What about time for life? And before it seems like I believe it's just high achievers that struggle with prioritizing time for sitting back, living life and enjoying it without feeling guilty- I must say, I don't. It's a problem for “the successful” and “the struggling”. But high achievers have proven that we can and will do what the social rules have dictated that everyone do to prove his or her worth- overwork. And continuing to prove this may not be the best thing for our world or us. Really, what's it all for? Why do we work, buy a house, have a dog, or anything? Hopefully it's not to prove our worth (!), but to live and experience the pleasure of life and help make our societies better places. If we can't "take a day" to do some things we would like to do in life, then what is the point of all those other days?
I struggle with these questions as much as anybody. I have just started the adventure of teaching college, and the experience is asking me to figure out how to live a life I feel is quality and at the same time navigate the demands of life. Can the demands and the finer qualities of living dovetail nicely? I’m trying to work that out! And I am glad to read that another college teacher took a day to perhaps work out this same question! After all, there are such truths explored in college! If we educators find ways of using these truths in our lives, the world could be a much better place. And if we, who have all this learning and wisdom at our fingertips, who have made investigating fine works our business, if we can’t incorporate the wisdom in them into living…who the heck can?
Desiree Taylor
Yes, it's a problem, and I found myself just not mentioning my mid-week day off to some people. As hard as we work, and as often as we're called upon to work weekends and evenings, it ought to be possible to do something frivolous once in a while without feeling like an outlaw.
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