back from madison, back to school

miri's writing workshop was great as always. i reminded myself about the teaching that instead of "spending every minute as though in the dentist's chair" we can "welcome each moment as though we'd invited it." it helped me reconcile with coming back to school... i love my students and my work, but i was also loving my vacation. i also wrote about the recent improvement in my marriage - just in the last few weeks we have inexplicably gotten closer and more loving again, after what seems many many months on the rocks.

i compared the rejuvenated marriage to a hippopotamus. that's what writing class is for: bad writing. ;)

i had a great time in madison with old friends. really really great time. i miss them. i don't miss madison but i miss being surrounded by a circle of dear friends. or interlocking circles really. i've whined about that before so... anyway, i love my madison friends and was very happy to spend some time with them.

self care... well, it felt like the whole time in madison was a big ol' bath of self-care. i even got some work done by getting up early. yesterday i had two breakfasts with Miri and then came home - this time the bus was too crowded for work, so I read a book - reading actual books for pure pleasure is another thing i've tried to start doing. i'm reading "A Golden Age," about the war that divided Bangladesh from Pakistan.

today i had an ok day at work and then in the evening i finished up the rest of the work i'd wanted to do on the break. most of it anyway. felt good. then i had a bath; now i'm going to bed. :) i wish i could have eaten some vegetables; then my self-care would feel complete. but we don't have any. shopping tomorrow. :)

thank you for reading what has become a rather mundane little series of daily musings on a prosaic topic....