Why hello, dear readers. I’m on the very messy front porch. The ceiling fan is running for the first time since last fall. I suppose I don’t need the ceiling fan running, but what the hell, hearing the drone again while I sit in the Adirondack chair is fun. Tomorrow I’ll clean and we’ll have a real front porch again.

I’m on spring break and doing pretty well, thank you very much. I don’t remember what I did over the weekend so I’m sure the time was very exciting. Seriously, what did I do? Don’t remember. On Monday N was sick so he and I hung out all day. We took M to work after she dropped off the van but stopped at a cool coffee shop in West Bend beforehand for espresso/cookies. The last two days I’ve had the house to myself. I’ve watched films (Up in the Air, pretty good), read (To The Lighthouse, excellent, but not very much fun), made a cake, and cleaned the first floor. I’ve been diligent about avoiding work, except for a brief stretch to clear a few emails/papers off the computer, but I feel myself grinding my teeth some. I’m doing ok. These things don’t change overnight, you know? I’m slowly learning, I think, how to be happy again. Big symbols help, like writing poetry or reading in the middle of the day. I think the biggest challenge will be letting go of work and not feeling as if part of me is getting torn away. Or maybe that’s a good thing, that feeling, because I’ll get to start over. And Easter week is an excellent time to start over, don’t you think?

Ok, I thought I’d have a lot to write, but I guess I don’t. We have new phones. I’m about a third done with the Catherine of Siena paper but decided not to take classes next year. I had to know now because the U expects us to fill out some stupid paperwork way ahead of time. Fine, whatever. My shoulder hurt over the weekend but I’ve lifted today and Monday and felt fine. More tomorrow, April Fool’s Day.