Sundays are in danger of wholeheartedly turning into the I-am-dreading-Monday day of the week. I wake up and immediately start to worry about what I need to accomplish before having to go back to work the next day, which includes not just regular work, but also what I have to do in terms of completing course work in my Master’s program as well as what course work I need to complete for the class I’m currently teaching.
Obviously, this is not particularly healthy, especially from a faith-based perspective when Sundays are traditionally for gathering together with other Christians to honor and worship our God and to fellowship with one another. But this is all somewhat academic when you’re like me and you’re trying to move beyond the Great Disillusionment of your faith community caused by radically awful moves that a core group within that community continues to make. To put it more simply, we are in a months- and possibly years-long process of evaluating where we want to attend church, and it’s quite a difficult journey.
Part of the gloom for this particular Sunday is the reality that our youngest child, who has been home for Spring Break for the past week, is returning to college. They add much-needed noise and positivity to our usually humdrum days and they will be greatly missed. But it’s not all gloom, at least for me. As I’m writing this, snow is gently falling outside — something I’ve always enjoyed. Then, too, this coming week offers a break from my teaching side job due to a different institution’s Spring Break.
Another positive is that my family and I will get together for lunch this afternoon to celebrate a birthday. Our get togethers are rare and something to look forward to.
In other news, a family member gifted me the money to buy a complete set of academic regalia. No more renting or more likely, simply avoiding academic events because of not wanting to pay for that stuff. It was such a nice gesture, given as a gift for my anticipated completion of a second Master’s degree next Spring. I don’t know if the average person realizes how much this getup costs but it’s several hundred dollars, so a big deal.
At my regular job, we attended a mandatory conflict resolution training one afternoon last week, provided by the Center for Conflict Resolution, and that gave us all who attended a lot to think about. I also added another IT governance responsibility to the list of meetings I attend in addition to standing in for my boss on Graduate Council. Things never seem to slow down, only accelerate, and that is especially the feeling I get between now and the end of the Spring semester.
May your Sunday be warm, bright, and restful.
