life has been hopping here in lovely east Tennessee. since the move, it seems i continuously struggle to both do and document in limited time. at the end of the day, i have decided it is better to live life than write about it and the blog has obviously suffered greatly.
the birds call outside and offset the otherwise gloomy dawn of the day, as i snuggle down under a new blanket and nurse my coffee. it seems the perfect time to write to you, my tolerant friend, though i hope you bear with my brevity as the pain in my arms burns fiercely from work and service rigors.
as one wakes from a cold suddenly better, i woke this January less fettered to that great 1950s American work ethic. i looked at my To Do list, estimated my maximal waking hours and recognized that 'caught up' is unachievable in academia. although this gut level realization carried with it melancholy, it also brought with it a degree of freedom. if 'under control' is an unachievable fantasy, then it only makes sense to find new successes, does it not?
to whit, my new philosophy:
you will never ever ever ever ever be caught up again... go hiking!
so i did. twice thus far.
January 31st, Trav and i took Bear for a 12.6 mile hike at Big South Fork.
the park remained festooned with winter decorations - icicles cascading from almost every surface, mosses bulging out into the sunshine and fallen leaves carpeting our path. it was beautiful and quiet, except for the occasional gunshot report as hunters and wild hogs faced off elsewhere in the park.
February 22nd, it was off to Frozen Head State Park for an 11.5 mile slog up to Chimney Top.
lazy snowflakes drizzled on our heads as wonderful and peculiar shapes and images curved into view. deer startled as they discovered us upon their path.
since then, work for Habitat for Humanity has pretty much monopolized the weekends. each build brings more fun than the last, as i become more knowledgeable and physically adept. it is exciting to catch problems before they occur and learn ways to compensate for my lesser upper body strength (compared to a man). the latter will be particularly important when time comes for the Women's build.
there is so much more to share, but the house now stirs and my chores list beckons. it will have to wait for another stolen morning.
