September!

Well, here it is. A big month, on many levels:

1. Back to school at a new university. It's the first time I've started the fall at another place in 5 YEARS. 5 years. It seems the past 5 years of building up my ambiguity tolerance are serving me well for this very new situation. Not only am I new to it, but it's new. We're starting it from the ground up. That means all of the things you normally take for granted when you are teaching a class (getting paid, registration systems, textbooks, classrooms, equipment, etc) do not exist in this case. My new boss is very sure it will all happen though; we are doing it step by step. And I trust her, thank goodness. It's cool to be involved at this level, though a little unsettling at times. But like I said, all of my years of pretending like I'm not worried and I'm so good at going with the flow and knowing the semester will somehow come together seem to be paying off. I really am not that worried. Hmmm. It's my entree into a potentially lucrative future.... so patience seems like a small price to pay. Somehow next week I'll get a classroom and students will come and things will be fine. I'm just not sure how. It's a mystery.

2. Dissertation. Needless to say that with the excitement of #1 and what you will see in #3, the dissertation will likely get the short shrift this month. I have to get the rest of my data, though, which I keep thinking won't be that hard once #1 is set and the students are back in town. It really won't be... as long as (this is big) people agree to talk to me. They will just have to. I will beg them. And then they will. That is my focus right now. Once I have all my data, I will be OK. Then I will have no excuse, and nothing else to do but sit down and figure it all out. I can do it!

3. Wedding, wedding, wedding. Wedding! Yep, it's happening, in less than a month. I was so fortunate to be able to go home and see my mom and some old friends on the weekend. They reminded me of how lucky I am, and how much everything is going to be OK. I have a tendency to fret (and obsess, who am I kidding?) but it's all going according to plan, mostly, and TMH keeps telling me what a good place we're in. We are in a good place. The key is not to get bogged down in the final details, like logistics, that make me want to pull my hair out. The fact is that the most important people in my life are coming from all over the world and I want things to be as easy for them as possible. So they will be. Or I will do my best that they be, I should say. And in the end, it won't matter, because everyone will be there and everyone will be happy regardless. Right? Right. You'll also be happy to know that my demons seem to understand the situation and are prepared to leave me alone for while.

Everything else really falls under #3. My Aussie relatives visiting (how exciting!), seeing all my friends, putting all of my various versions of family together (for better or for worse, pun intended). All of it happens this month! And everyone says you are supposed to try to enjoy it, because it only happens once. So I am going to try.

Oh, and it's my birthday next week. I knew it could potentially get overlooked this year (and rightly so... I am not excited about being a year older, and the other things going on this month are really much more important). But, a birthday is a birthday... and I'll be having mine. Likely on the first day of class. An excellent birthday present, when you think about it.