I thought I’d have more time to update my blog during sabbatical. I imagined posts along the lines of
- “Here is what I am doing mid-sabbatical.”
- “Here is what I am doing late sabbatical.”
- “Here are all the great thoughts the tax payers helped with with this semester!”
While I would really like to post about the latter, I’ll wait until they come out in press and then talk about them.
That said, this sabbatical–the last 6 months really–has been the best time of my life. I’ve fallen back in love with my research and with my life. It helps that the twins are older and a bit more self sufficient. But it has been the time to pause and think and focus at a relaxed pace that really made my perception about my life sparkle.
Weirder, I was concerned at the beginning of my leave that all my projects were due during the first week of January. I was concerned that I’d be too leisurely during the leave and then be crunched at the end. While, I certainly spent the last two weeks working hard, the writing was a lot easier than I thought it would be because I’d spent the previous 4 months working out conceptual and data issues. If all my writing could be like that, publications would be shooting out of my ears.
In any case, it’s nice to fall back in love with one’s research and one’s life. I’m still feeling all warm and fuzzy about it.
However as a colleague warned:
Colleague: Welcome back!
Me: I’m *glad* to be back!
((pause))
Colleague: That’ll pass.