I've cancelled class tomorrow--from past experience I know that no more than 15-20% of students will show up the afternoon before Thanksgiving. I don't know why my school's administration insists on having classes the day before anyway--every other school I've taught at cancels classes the day before to give students the opportunity to drive safely to their destinations. Of course, students will take every opportunity to take the whole week off that they can, and that's a pain too--it's the "give them an inch and they take a yard" phenomenon.

So I have a 5-day weekend for what has been an unexpectedly hectic term. There's some grading to do and letters of recommendation to write, but I also have a little time to myself for the first time in a while anyhow. I haven't thought about anything much beyond work and Henry for a long time.

It's actually kind of scary having the mental space since I know new challenges are ahead--but at least I can avoid thinking about most of that until the end of the term in mid-December. The time I take off this weekend can be for play, not planning.

Now that the leaves are gone, I can see the sparkle of water on the river from my front porch when it's sunny and at night. It's just a glimpse, but that little view gives me the same sense of space opening up too.

I think I need to take up meditation again and practice letting the river of my thoughts run by me rather than getting as caught up in things as I have of late.