And so fall break begins, not with a bang but with a . . . drizzle?  (And a not unwelcome one at that.)

Today marks the first full day of fall break, which isn’t totally accurate because an odd overlap almost always exists between the old quarter ending, the break, and the new quarter beginning.  So today and tomorrow are for closing out the grade book and later in the week will be for getting things in place for the second quarter of the school year.  And next week?  That’s for doctors and dermatologists and chiropractors.

The drizzle has been nice.  The morning started with a trip to the gym followed by breakfast and time at the state library.  Lunch was the messiest and best chicken salad sandwich around.  And I may have snuck in a quick nap after some time in the classroom.

One of my main goals, as always, is to get some reading done.  I’ve been taking way too long getting through the latest Rivers of London novel.  Waiting in the wings?  The second entry in the Impossible Creatures series.  And then there’s a new Wendell Berry novel that I’m going to try (which will be a miracle because I’ve not been able to read any of his other novels).  I’ve also got some theology books to work my way through.  I’m almost done with Fred Sanders’s Union with Christ and the Life of Faith.  And John Owen’s Communion with God (which I only know about because of Sanders’s book).  There’s one other book, a last-minute addition to the list, that I’ll get to later this week.  A week ago I didn’t know it existed, but it’s a perfect fit for this particular moment in time.

The quarter, by the way, was good, full (with some days being a bit too full).  Much like this space, my personal journal has quite a few large gaps, but that doesn’t mean reflection wasn’t happening.  I do think that some questions of meaning linger, are always just beneath the surface of things.  I’m definitely carrying that with me into break.

But for now the drizzle continues and there’s hope for a quiet night and a peaceful end to the day.  That’s a great way to start a break.