Shorter Break (Than Intended)

One misunderstanding many people have when it comes to the life of a college professor is that they get "so much time off."  And this may appear to be true if you look at an academic calendar and notice Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break, etc...   There certainly does look like there should be plenty of time off - if you don't take any time to consider what the job requires if you intend to do it well. 

(Most who work at the smaller colleges do!  I won't speak for the larger universities as I have fewer connections there and won't make assumptions.)

In any event, Fall Break for Tammy was this past Thursday and Friday.  Because we have both been running in hyper speed for the past several months, we thought we would schedule a short getaway.  We planned to leave mid-day Thursday for the Lansing, Iowa, area and return Saturday.  We also arranged to see some good friends for part of this trip because (as they say) it's been a while.

Tammy did bring some work along in case a relaxed setting brought inspiration.  Folks, this is how things are during school terms.  The work doesn't stop during breaks - but you might look for a more relaxing place to concentrate and get some of the work done that can't be done when you're doing classes, advising, meetings and all of the day-to-day stuff.

But, we still have things to do at the farm (and the house) too.  So, we tried to push a little on Wednesday evening to get one more thing done.  Some work with the bee hives.

And this is how you get into trouble.  It's nobody's fault.  It's just what happens when you rush things a little bit when you shouldn't.  The net result, is Rob's bee suit didn't get completely closed up around the neck area.  It was getting a little dark and we were in a hurry to finish and it just got missed.  The end result was a series of 6 bee stings on the neck and face.  There was enough swelling going on that we went to Urgent Care the next day and decided we needed to stay home for one of the two planned nights away.

So, we accomplished giving Tammy a break from school work because it was impossible to concentrate on it with all of the bee excitement going on.  And, we took a break from our break because it made no sense to go somewhere when we were trying to be sure we got the swelling down to a safer level.  To be (bee) perfectly clear, the I do not typically react to bee stings all that much.  But, I also don't typically get six at once in the face area.  And, I was never in any serious danger.  It was enough to take the time to deal with it.

In the end, I could make the choice to be miserable (and scary looking) for a longer versus a shorter time.

After the visit to the doc, things calmed down fairly quickly.  So, the next day we did a bit more farm work and then left for a shorter than planned break.  We did get to visit with our friends and we did get to see some beautiful things - even if it felt pretty chilly and it was cloudy and overcast the whole time.

The leaves were still beautiful, but clearly past their peak.  While I didn't manage to capture an image of it, we noticed several places where a stand of trees had no leaves remaining, but they had a carpet of gold at the base of those trees.  We also took the opportunity to go up to the Mount Hosmer Lookout in Lansing.  You can see one viewpoint from that park in the first photo.

In the end, we still managed to do a little bit to balance our spirits with some time appreciating the natural world.  We also allowed ourselves some time to catch up with friends and do a few things that were not task related.

Sometimes, we debate whether it's the best option or not - because the work never goes away and it doesn't get any doner when you ain't a doin' any of it.  On the other hand, what's the point of working so hard if you can't also live your life and be you every so often?  

Good questions all.  And I suspect we'll keep asking them and keep struggling to find the balance, just like everyone else.  This time around, I think we made the right choice to take the time we could and find some peace.