Back at It, Day 4, but I Won't Be on Campus Today: Getting Boosted, Finishing Collaborative Pieces, Driving Chitunga, and Reading From Home

I need quiet when the work really needs to be done. Silencio! Silencio! So, I've been hunkering down in my Canisius Office. The work is slowly getting done (proud of Suzie-Q and me for hitting submit today), completed a number of monthly Work Day tasks, delved into the service work (until my eyes teared up with exhaustion), and talked myself into holding my breath for the month of January, as I always have to do. 

I've been noting two other faculty members who have been faithful to campus life and I'm wondering what they are working on. There's only been three cars in the lot this week. Knowing who they are, I imagine they are working on their 12th or 13th book. My admiration for their work ethic is there. Phew. 

Karal is getting used to my away-from-home work, too, making sure that she's extra spastic, extra obnoxious of squeaky toys, and extra enthusiastic about play time when I arrive home. I think I met her expectations this week, because she is collapsing on the couch by 9 p.m.

I've been learning of the abundance of positive Covid/Delta/Omicron cases in my region, and sort of alarmed by how everyone I correspond with is directly affected. Symptoms aren't severe, but I'm hearing people have been down since the semester ended: sneezing, freezing, fevers, headaches, exhaustion, etc. But that is par for the course with teachers and academics with or without a pandemic. We're worn down at the end of a semester, and this year, like last, more than ever. 

I, for one, can't take too much news or social media, as it adds to the overwhelming exhaustion I already am feeling. I am laughing, too, as I'm channeling all the Danish teachers who I was fortunate to work with for a decade who always grew exhausted when they visited American schools. "We work differently in our country. We work hard, but we also don't kill ourselves with the work." I think about this all the time knowing that I've never known the work without the killing self part. 

But I'm being good: moving, aware of self-care, and maneuvering through the work with a sense of humor (and purpose). And I get to hang with the kid today, so there's the joy.