Spring Break, Small Miracles, and Spring Plans

I don't know if anyone was holding their breath for it, but I took last week off from the blog. The college's spring recess was last week, and while I did attend to some grading and house-cleaning I also wanted to treat those few days like the period of rest they were supposed to be, so I gave myself this little reprieve. Mostly, I just wanted to sleep a little longer in the mornings. Because sleep is lovely.

What's also lovely? Blocks of time to read. I had an amazing Sunday at the beginning of the break, so amazing it almost felt like a practical joke -- I kept waiting for something horrible to happen and undo all the good & happy of the afternoon. A. and I went to lunch sans children around noon (they were at their aunt's house hanging out with cousins)  and then -- you guys -- I sat on the couch under a blanket and read for three hours. No joke, I haven't done that in YEARS. That is not hyperbole. And it is not exaggeration to say it felt quite miraculous.

In the days that followed, I alternated between projects around the house and finishing some grading that was absolutely necessary. And reading in smaller, less luxurious amounts, but reading nonetheless. I managed to read an entire memoir, Maid by Stephanie Land, which will be published by Hachette in December (I think? I read an ARC my sister brought home from her job as an Art Director there). It's weird finishing a book that fast, but it wasn't terribly difficult reading. Which is not to say the prose was bad. It just wasn't something I needed to linger over. I finished Drowning in Sand, J. Marc Harding's novel, which was darkly funny in parts but mostly a scathing comment on the prescription drug industry, the healthcare complex in the U.S., and humanity's collective depravity, even or especially at the expense of the depraved -- it's like we can't help destroying ourselves in the worst ways, over and over. Also I finished Alicia Suskin Ostriker's Waiting for the Light -- the first of Ostriker's books that I'd read. She poignant and smart and funny and musical in her poems and I'm a fan. I will read more of her -- after I finish all the other books I have waiting for me. . . .

On Wednesday I stole a few hours with M.S. and attended a second art crit at Wayfarer's Gallery in Brooklyn, where M. and three other artists shared their most recent work and asked for feedback. It was just as interesting as the first time, but I felt far less shell-shock as I knew more of what to expect. M. showed the group our sketchbook project and so there was even some personal investment on my part -- but the group didn't comment on it so much as to encourage M. to continue to experiment and play with these different projects outside her normal routine or wheelhouse.

At the end of the week I focused on the house and family, as my parents arrived from VA for the Easter holiday and, because of that holiday, all the immediate members of my household were home and there was little privacy or quiet time for writing, reading, or grading. Instead, I decluttered and cleaned our basement, which has done a remarkable job on my psyche -- it's easier to feel optimistic when your surroundings are in order.

The return to school this week was shock-inducing for my students, though -- because of the two snow days that occurred right before we commenced with spring break, almost none of them were prepared for classes this week. And yesterday I lectured for two and a half hours almost non-stop between my first two classes, and because I'm a dumbass, I did it without the water bottle I'd left in my office, so as a result my throat was swollen and sore by the end of the day. It still hurts this morning. I've never experienced vocal strain before -- I try to avoid making my classes lecture-heavy anyway; I prefer them to be far more discussion-based. So it's weird.
 

My slowing-down during spring break made two things more apparent to me: I want to spend more time in and around my home, particularly in the yard, during the next few weeks (I really want a vegetable garden this year!) and more time reading and writing (oh yeah, I did a little of that too -- it didn't go as well). I mean, I've always wanted more time for reading and writing, but I guess I'm just more determined or prepared to say 'fuck off' to everything else. 

Still trying to figure out how to do that officially and decorously at work, though. You gotta keep it classy, ammaright? 

(Don't worry -- I'm in no way under the impression that I'm anywhere near classy . . .)