Feeling Big in a Broken World

 

I feel everything a little bigger than other people, or so I'm told. This can be a blessing and a curse, because the joys are super joyful and the sadness is very sad. This past few months has been so wonderful being able to teach a college class. I officially completed my first semester as a professor. All final papers have been graded, and semester grades have been submitted.  I'm also working on the finishing touches for a new book that I'll be publishing in 2026. It's a culmination of the work I did on my thesis almost two decades ago, which never came to completion because I switched to another option to complete my graduate program when I was pregnant with the twins. I'm super proud of that project, and grateful to have been given the opportunity to live out my dream of being a college professor. 

With that comes a look ahead to the spring semester. I was tentatively offered three classes to teach in spring, but due to low enrollment, I'm going to teach either one or two instead. I'm sad because I was excited to teach three (one online and two in-person) but now it looks like I'll have to wait a semester or two for the online option since others in the department have more seniority than I do. But the low enrollment makes me think about the state of our world and how different factors are affecting this next generation of young adults moving forward with their lives. I think it's just an incredibly sad and scary time for a lot of people, and even though the initial news of teaching less classes bummed me out, I'm trying to stay positive and be hopeful that I am assigned two classes - still progress from last semester and movement in the right direction for me. 

Any major change or potential change can affect me emotionally in ways that it might not impact others. So this has been an emotion-filled week with the completion of my first semester as a professor, finishing touches on my book project, news about spring semester, and then also celebrating 15 years of marriage and getting ready for the holidays.

Which is why I'm especially thankful for the small things - like this heart-shaped leaf on my walk while Micah was at basketball practice earlier this week. 

And why I wanted to share these thoughts and encourage you all to enjoy the small moments too.