My year-long sabbatical kicked off today and it feels great.* The sun is shining, I’ve got a long list of things to do, and I can devote my attention to them for almost an entire year before I have to return to the usual concerns of writing syllabi, prepping lectures, and grading papers. YAY – Thank you Reed!
* Sticklers will point out that, as a practical matter, my sabbatical started at the end of May. From a psychological point of view, the summer didn’t feel like a sabbatical because I always get the summer to myself (and my sabbatical doesn’t involve a trip to Turin or Seville). It wasn’t until this morning when I rode my bike through the crowds of cars negotiating the filled parking lots, wove my way around the students and families grouped around the dorm entrances, and rode past the orientation tables with the green t-shirted O-week assistants that I could finally say, “I’m on sabbatical!”
