It’s the end of another semester and the end of another school year.

Tuesday was a great day at our university commencement.  With joy and pride, I was able to celebrate (alongside family, friends, fellow faculty and students) the accomplishments of my former credential, masters and doctoral students as they crossed the stage in a beautiful ceremony.  This year, a Jumbotron magnified every moment on the stage, and, from the crowd of graduates and their loved ones, there was the usual excited buzz and energy of elation at the culmination of the accomplishments we had all gathered to commemorate.

It was a lovely way to end what has been a tough semester for me.

I was coming off of a rough fall semester, scrambling to submit my tenure file and spending many hours helping my family through the illness and eventual passing of my aunt.  The spring semester didn’t seem like it was going to be nearly as difficult. I was only teaching one course; my student teachers were much closer than they had been the previous semester; and, although I knew the advising load would be heavy as my masters and doctoral students moved towards finishing their thesis and dissertations, I felt like it would be a breeze compared to the fall.

But, I came into the spring semester already spent.  Despite the fact that I had taken 2 weeks off in the winter, I just couldn’t get my head back in the game.  I got really ill (flu + stress) twice in the semester. And all semester long, I felt like I was playing catch up, even though there was (relatively) less to do than in the fall.

I was reflecting on my running season on Monday with my team, and I talked about the humility of preparing for the OC Half Marathon.  As I did in one of my more recent blogs, I drew connections between this humility and how the semester had gone for me.  And I ended up committing to more self-care.  Because I can’t be my best, if I can’t be present.

I am grateful for this semester. I was shown incredible generosity by my students who still reflected on taking much from this semester’s courses.  The work of my student teachers, masters student and doctoral candidates (now official Drs!) inspired me.  They were moments of joy that brought be back to the present.

As I transition quickly from the spring to the summer session, I am reminded to breathe, and to enjoy the beauty of life around me.  This is the hardest thing for me, as I am always in the “doing” of things. But every so often, I am reminded to pay attention, to be present, and that there are many gifts to be found in that presence.

I am richly blessed.  I am also someone who will continue to put the needs of others before my own. I know this about myself and continue to try to find balance. I know that balance will allow me to give the best of myself and to experience the beauty of those blessings.  For now, I will be thankful for the gifts of the present.