The big D

Sometimes when you expect to be completely swamped, being only a little swamped can seem like quite a triumph. I've been dreading this week since the beginning of the year -- huge complete responsibilities on my shoulders, presentations and documents to put together, and all falling at the same time as the admissions crunch.

What I figured was that I'd have to let my normal classwork slide in order to get that all done. So it was a matter of some surprise when I found myself on track after Tuesday. I had two of my presentations done; the business meeting information was underway, and needed to wait for a little more information in any case. My admissions reviews were up to date. I could even do some grading, read some blog posts, make some inroads on the student work that I had assumed would just have to pile up.

With preparations for my meeting complete, and work as caught up as I could have hoped, I can actually be excited about the big events coming up. Right after this weekend is our final interview day, another all day push. Then at the end of the week we'll be making our admissions decisions, right before spring break. Once April comes, we'll be gearing up to gain momentum on summer tasks -- revising the admissions rubric, building assessment tools, everything we've been putting on our to-do lists.

And I'm in a position I never expected at this stage of the semester: Thinking about something other than just getting by. It's a nice feeling.