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Note #162: In under the wire (2026.5.31)
It’s the end of the month, so I’m back for my monthly check-in. If you’ve been around these parts for a while, you’ll know that I don’t write very often, but I do like to at least get something out once a month. Sometimes that happens when inspiration strikes or when there is something in particular I want to share. Often, though, I find that an entire month has gone by and I haven’t written anything, so I drop in with a quick note as a sort of proof of life.
Not that I haven’t wanted to write at all this month; there have indeed been thoughts that I have considered sharing, but ultimately I decided against doing so because they weren’t particularly uplifting thoughts and I didn’t want people to worry about me. I’m doing OK, just to be clear. It has been a rough month, for reasons that I don’t really want to get into here, but I’m dealing with it. Still, I think this has affected my thinking somewhat, and every time I’ve thought about writing something, I’ve realized that it could project a negative image of my state of mind. All that vagueness probably makes it sound worse than it is, so I’ll say again: I’m fine. It’s just been a rough month.
Still, time marches on, and somehow there are only two weeks left in the semester. I’ve been through a lot of semesters now as a teacher, so you would think that I would know by now how fast they tend to go, but I always find myself surprised. It’s like that scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the one where John Cleese’s Lancelot is off in the distance running toward the castle—until he’s suddenly no longer in the distance but right there. That might seem like a weird connection to make, but that’s exactly what the end of the semester feels like every time. Well, except for the getting stabbed in the gut part. It only feels like that sometimes.
So, things will probably be a bit busy next month as well with all that comes at the end of a semester. But at the end of June we will be traveling to the Pacific Northwest to see my brother Brian, and my parents (and hopefully my youngest brother Matthew) will be coming up to join us for the Fourth of July weekend. We’ll then be visiting a friend on the Oregon coast before heading to Yellowstone National Park, which has been on both my and HJ’s bucket list. It’s not really the best time for travel and a long road trip in the States, to be honest, but we’ve been planning this for a long time.
I guess that’s about it. Even though it is a Sunday evening, I have to get back to reading a dissertation for a defense this Thursday. But I’m still alive and kicking, and I’ve done my duty for the month. I’ll try to check in a little earlier next time, before we leave for our trip.