Moving along

It is the first day of August. That means a lot. It means that I am no longer affiliated with the Good Old Dudes University. It means it has been a year since I worked there for pay. And my unpaid leave has now expired without incident, without comment. We're both moving on.

I have no regrets. I love my new job. The people are great, from the newest student to the most senior dean. My colleagues have energy, excitement, enthusiasm. We've built a seminar, attracted grant money, hired a postdoc, organized students. The trajectory here is positive.

I love my office, too. Soon after I arrived, at my request, two additional large whiteboards were installed. I have a huge window on another wall. It's a really great workspace.

And the family seems happy.

There is a well known quote that Google says I should attribute to theologian Reinhold Niebuhr: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

At G.O.D. University, it was clear there were things I could not change, and most of the time I could live with that knowledge with serenity and acceptance. But there happened to be a third option: "And grant me the awareness I need to escape when I can, with dignity, to find a new place where change takes far less courage, and acceptance takes less serenity."


Things aren't perfect here or anywhere. But things are better here, in many subtle ways. And spring is coming.