Summer is still going strong, but one of the harbingers of the end of that season has come as yellow school buses start to rumble along the roads and college campuses are filled with both slightly bewildered freshmen and returning “old hands” at the college game. Since my day job involves educating college students, I get particularly excited by this time of year. Teaching online is just different – I like the campus experience. This is the year I intend to get more fully involved in campus life – cheering in the stands, seeing plays, going to art exhibitions, and so on. (I want to start an informal film club – we’ll see how that project goes.) The pandemic took so much of that from all of us and this year, it will still be beneficial to be cautious, but with care, a great many things seem possible.
Self-care in the last month has been mixed with quite a few family and work obligations. I’ve tried new recipes, gotten outside to explore via geocaching, made great strides in getting the new house set up (but where, oh where is my can opener?), spent time with my Dad and with good friends, and watched some lovely TV and movies that made me thoughtful and aware of love and beauty. These ranged from the over-the-top delight of Crazy Rich Asians to the thoroughly heartwarming Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, which inspired me to add those books to my Christmas gift list. I also took a very successful 12-hour vacation (I’ve written about that in the “Essentials” category before) that involved me having far too much to do and saying “no” to all of it for the space of one single day. I really cannot recommend this highly enough.
Work beckons impatiently. Keep it in perspective, Divas. And let me suggest that you check out the “Diva Drills” and other material under the RESOURCES tab at the top of the page. While you’re doing that, consider this – maybe the secret to striking that ever-elusive work/life balance is to switch the order of the first two words.
Spread joy, Divas!
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