I have spent my entire life in and around higher education. My father was a philosophy professor and I found myself following him into the professoriate. Thus since grade school, and to this day, I have always had a week off in March. It’s a privileged existence that we have when we can look forward to a week away from the stresses and pressures of work every March. Spring Break can be a time to stay at home and relax (or stay and home and get things accomplished), or it can be a time to travel. For me, this Spring Break was a time to travel.
Sometimes, you need to leave behind the challenges of developing the outline of an early alert pilot program for Fall 2019, and instead take the time to look at some palm trees.
Sometimes, you need to quit fretting over the draft guidelines and procedures for academic student complaints, and instead board a 50-foot catamaran and go whale watching.
Sometimes, you need to walk away from the meetings about revisions to our dual credit faculty professional development program and the meetings about how to build a strategic focus into our schedule development process and the meetings about expanding our college destination center, and instead watch the sun set.
Sometimes, you need to quit drinking cup after cup of coffee as you power through the work day and instead visit a Kona coffee farm.
Sometimes, you need to put aside your work on that presentation at AACC in April and the launch of 8-week programs in the Fall and the upcoming Texas Pathways Institute, and instead enjoy a malasada purchased in a bakery in the southern-most city in the United States.
Sometimes, you should just let the Facilities folks worry about reopening HLC Building 1000 after a massive water leak and instead visit a lava beach.
Sometimes, you have to suspend your work on the final report for the Achieving the Dream OER Degree Initiative grant and the semi-annual report on the HB 2223 Professional Development grant, and take in the breathtaking view of the steam vents at the caldera of Kilauea instead.
Sometimes, your involvement in promoting an intentional equity-focused mindset in faculty hiring just has to be put on hold so you can soak in the beauty of an island shoreline.
Sometimes, all of your work and worry has to be set aside in favor of another sunset.
Spring Break is restorative, and a blessing. And now we’re back and our work continues.