At the moment I’m in the middle of preparations for what feels like several new years, all beginning within days or weeks of each other.
At work I’m helping my department prepare for a new school year that starts on September 2. Yes, everyone, that’s BEFORE Labor Day. We’ll kick off the academic year with a two-day week, follow it up with a four-day week, and finally get into the five-day weeks. (This means that the Tuesday/Thursday classes will meet twice before the Monday/Wednesday classes meet at all, so people who teach the same course on both of those schedules will have some juggling to do to keep the sections aligned.) I’m also helping three newly hired department members get set up for classes and feel confident on campus.
Secondborn is starting their first year of college, but not on my campus. That means move-ins and a night-before-the-first-day-of-classes concert for Secondborn and Eldest, and we’re going to need to figure out those logistics soon, as Eldest does not, at the moment, drive. (Even if he did, there might not be a car to use for him that day.) Go Panthers!
MiddleSon is beginning his senior year of high school and already looking forward to the terrifying exciting future of schooling and work that lies ahead of him. Go Eagles Class of 2022!
Youngest has already started an athletic season (fall soccer) and is preparing to adjust his sleep schedule (I hope) to accommodate in-person classes for his sophomore year of high school. Here’s hoping that he — and everyone else — can stay in person and healthy for as long as possible. Go Eagles!
At a personal level, I’m preparing (or thinking that I really ought to be preparing) for the Jewish new year, which involves everything from soul-searching and prayer to digging out my recipes for challah and apple cake. It’s quite intense all by itself, but I would like to acknowledge the UW System for once again ignoring the Jewish calendar while planning the academic calendars for their campuses. The campuses that managed to register a protest got their calendars adjusted; the rest of us may now be misaligned with them. We’ll also be wondering which faculty and staff will be working on the High Holy Days and which ones will be at services (in-person or virtual) all day while they fast. That might be a way for some instructors to align their course sections….
This is a good point at which to remind myself that I like new years. I like having a chance to start over, especially if it means that I get to have to buy new notebooks and pens. I like having the opportunity to take stock, reflect, and make a plan before starting again.
Maybe there should be a New Year’s Eve for the start of the school year. A School Year’s Eve, if you will. A time to celebrate that the school supplies have all been purchased and delivered to the school. A time to rejoice that the schedule is complete and all of the textbooks have been acquired. A time to enjoy some final family time before that chaotic first morning of managing the logistics of morning showers and breakfasts before the arrival of the bus. A time to think, How did we do this two years ago when everything was normative?
Knitwise, there has been no knitting. But I’ve been doing more reading than usual. I have finished a long nonfiction book (Tombstone) and started a long fiction book (The Weight of Ink). I have picked up books that I had started and set aside (The Book of Aron), and I’m making progress. As we get closer to the start of the school year I’ll be better able to determine my new schedules for working, reading, and picking up Youngest from soccer practice (or soccer games).
Writing? Other than the blogging, I have been thinking about my fiction and nonfiction and wondering when I might sneak away for some sort of writing retreat. A friend gave me a gift certificate that will partially cover the cost of a weekend stay at a nearby bed and breakfast, and I’m thinking about how to turn that into a marathon writing session during the winter break. How much could I do if I didn’t have to worry about anything else? It would be interesting to find out.
Happy School Year’s Eve!
Chocolate Sheep 