I’m writing this mid-afternoon on Wednesday.  The quarter and semester have officially come to an end.  I’ve got a couple of students with minor missing assignments to take care of; beyond that, the grades are good.  I’ve got the winter banquet to work through and one more mainland interview to conduct before being totally “officially” done with things.  Friday is for Star Wars and HPU basketball.  Saturday is mostly normal before heading to the airport for Tennessee.

This quarter’s end hasn’t been as stressful as those in years past (which is hopefully a good thing and not a sign that I’ve totally forgotten to do something important).  I’m looking forward to a good trip away: family and friends, good food, lots of sleep.  I’ve been trying to figure out what to take with me to read.  At this point, I’ve settled on Buechner, Tolkien, and Chesterton for relaxing.  More on my 2020 reading hopes tomorrow.

I definitely hope that part of what this break gives me is a quality, basic reset for things.  While not as intense as this time last year, the balance of things at work has been tenuous, always a kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul.  These times remind you how shallow the soil can be at times . . . and how hard nutrients can be to come by.  So hopefully a resetting of some of the most basic habits: physical, spiritual, and mental.  And then there’s definitely going to be some planning ahead to do.