Sunday mornings post waffles, bacon, and hot tea – having theological conversations with my hubby and taking notes for my paper. C.S. Lewis features in the discussion and the fire warms my body and soul.
Life of a Grad Student
Month: February 2016
In Foul Weather and Fair
The town where I grew up is on the water and my dad has always been an amateur weather man as well as a sailor. There was a peninsula in the town with a long harbor on one side and the sound on the other. Whenever there was a storm, my dad would say, “let’s go down to the beach and see if the water is over the road yet.” I remember the flooding being more common in winter storms. Dad and I, and my sister, would jump in the car, drive down to the beach, and plow through the water, first with the car and then on foot. We would check out the water level around the buildings and look for waves and white caps.
Weather was exciting! Rain and storms were to be EXPERIENCED. As an adult, I try to recapture the joy of being outdoors in all weather, foul and fair. And whenever dad calls, his first question is always, ‘how’s the weather?’ The stormier the better in his mind!
Stolen Serenity
Overwhelm.
We’ve all felt it. Feeling stressed and not a clue where to start. Struggling to hold on to my joy and peace. Reminding myself to breathe, literally and metaphorically. Remembering the importance of down time. Letting the mind rest. Sometimes being productive means you need to intentionally spend time not being productive. Turn your brain off and let your mind wander. Give yourself permission to just be. Even when you are in grad school, and working full time, and it’s tax season, and your to-do list is a mile long. And sometimes you need to clean your desk, despite the to-do list, because a decluttered desk leads to a de-cluttered mind, which increases productivity.
So my serenity was not really stolen – it is my choice whether to hold on to it. No one can take it away from me. I had let it slip away. Cleaning my desk helped. A few evenings and lunch hours of ‘wasted time’ were the cure. I gave myself permission to accomplish nothing of an evening and it gave me the margin I needed. Rest is key to maintaining serenity.