Spring has sprung....

Yesterday afternoon I found myself doing something I have not done in a long time. I was staring out of the window, thinking about - nothing. I had been reading one of the many books-for-pleasure that have piled up on my bedside table, my desk, or my bookshelves over the past six years of school. I paused for a few minutes because I was about to fall asleep mid-sentence. After about five minutes of staring out of the huge plate glass window at church, I noticed that I was looking past or through the most amazing dogwood blossoms. I sat for another few minutes lost in wonder of the beauty that I had not noticed. Then I began to realize that over the past six years there are a lot of things I have placed on the back burner of life in order to stay focused on the added responsibility of school. There are things at work that I have left undone or half done. There are great students that have come and gone that I never took the time to know on a deeper level. There are parts of my kids' lives that I have missed or watched from a disengaged distance. There are seasons, like this one, that I have seen come and go, but have not really noticed them.

The transition to post-graduate student is going to take awhile, but I am determined to rediscover the joys of simple things - like doing nothing. Like letting the beauty of the seasons envelope me with mindless wonder. Like playing simple, silly games with Karlie. Like listening to music with Nick (even if it is rap that I don't understand). Like taking long walks with Natalie and talking about the most recent book she is reading or new story she is writing. Like going on dates with my wife. Like taking out pencil and paper and drawing again. Like posting in this blog on a regular basis.

This is going to be fun!