The return

Since we got back from our trip, I don't mind saying: I've been enjoying my home. Yes, you too, teetering stack of DVDs blocking my path! And you, barely functional curtains and carpets! It's so cold outside (snow on the ground this morning), and I've felt so displaced on our grand tour of the relatives, that I've just been reveling in the sensation of being stationary. I've sat on the couch, watched football and movies, played Wii with my children, and finished knitting a sweater.

And now normal life is about to return. I went back to work today, although it hardly counts as a normal day -- classes have yet to resume, and my boss wasn't in the office, so I had hours to myself to work on Huge Research Project and complete grade appeal reports.

Tomorrow we take yet another step back toward our usual schedules. The kids return to school, my boss comes back to the office. In another week or so, everything will be back in full swing -- more so, in a way, since I find myself back in charge of an enterprise I happily surrendered last year, adding one more responsibility to my load.

Leisure time gets pinched in normal life, of course. I get home later. My workout and subsequent shower cuts into the evening. I have to make lunches for the kids. TV, reading, and knitting time shrinks.

But for all that, things get done. Sometimes it seems that rest is hard to come by. I know that I'm lucky to have ample time to devote to my hobbies and passions, and to my family. I can't help looking forward, though, to the day a few months hence when the hours expand and the responsibilities diminish -- giving me time to recreate and renew myself.