End of an Intense Week

Even though I didn’t have class until Wednesday this week (we had Monday off for the MLK holiday), the week flew by. I had a paper due Tuesday morning, and an oral presentation for class today, plus many, many pages of theology to read. I kind of like the intensity of J-term, but there’s not much opportunity to catch your breath without getting behind.

I did, however, escape campus for a short while over my lunch break on Wednesday. The same friend who insisted that I try to enjoy winter suggested that we go to the Como Conservatory, so we did. I had forgotten that there is a place just a few minutes from campus where I can walk around without a jacket and breath deeply without my lungs freezing in the middle of winter. The sun actually came out that day, which was an added bonus. That and the polar bear “enrichment session” (they have to keep the bears mentally stimulated—I guess seminary students aren’t the only ones!) we happened to catch on our short trip to the zoo. I definitely recommend the Conservatory for anyone who needs a break from the Minnesota winter.

So, perhaps this helped the rest of a busy week seem not so overwhelming. And thinking about the remaining ten days of my J-term class, I realize that the majority of the assignments are behind us. Just a final test and paper, which do comprise more than half of our grade, but are spread out so that we have four days after the class officially ends to turn in the paper. By that time I will also be reading ahead for Spring semester classes, and preparing for the teaching events I have in February.

Actually, for as intense as J-term is, it is probably more relaxing than life will be after it ends, when I have to juggle many different things once again. Hopefully by then I will have thawed out a little bit to make moving around easier. In the meantime, there’s always the Conservatory, and my found memories of warmer days (see photo from a previous trip to the Conservatory).