--Originally published at Taking the Risk…IS success!

I’ve always been partial to September.  Ever since I was a kid the start of the school year seems to be the time when the biggest changes happen in my life.  Last year at this time my old job was ending.  Looking back, I call 2015-2016 my sabbatical.  I had spent so much time working and rushing around the previous decade I was completely burned out. I needed to “live empty for a time.”  It wasn’t easy, and yet it was.

As you know, last year I took a part time job doing finances and I learned a LOT about endowment and gift funds and about the work-flow in an academic department.  I also (re)learned to respect boundaries around work hours and life.  My boss made it clear that I was not supposed to do work outside of the hours I was scheduled and I, eventually, figured out how to make peace with not being able to accomplish everything I wanted to accomplish in the time I had to do it.  I have been feeling okay with this for the past couple of months.

I’m excited to see what the next few months bring.  I’m going to be helping Emerson College’s Office of Research and Creative Scholarship  teach faculty and administrators about grant writing and sponsored research.  I also spent some time in July working with Trecia Reavis and 5-8 year-old’s at the Harvard Ed Portal.  We used the Pre-Text learning method, which uses creative activities to help kids learn literature and citizenship.  Inspiring and challenging.  I’m looking forward to exploring pre-texts more.

We’re heading to Ocean Park today to hang with our friends Jeff and Peter. So fortunate to have a friend with a house in a beautiful place that’s easy to get to!