Well....that was a hiatusand a half! I couldn't believe how long it's been since I posted here! After the prolonged wintery weather, the spring and then the summer have passed in a blur of activity.The thesis is progressing apace, I think. I have moved on from general and theoretical stuff to commentary and it seems infinitely more satisfying to see the word count grow without the feeling that I'm trying to nail clouds to the wall.
I've had August off to recoup and unwind, read for pleasure and generally just troll about, which has been wonderful. The youngest, the Bright-Eyed Boy has made the transition from junior to senior school with only the most minor of wobbles (unfounded worries about PE): I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed that he doesn't suffer any of the anxiety attacks that marred last autumn, although he is away from the dreadful harridan of a teacher that sparked them off in the first place!
Having got them to the bus-stop at just gone half-past seven in the morning, and having walked the dog (who, being a greyhound, is more than happy with a 20 minute stroll), I find that I can realistically sit down at the computer by 8am. I could work solidly until 4.30pm, when they arrive home, but don't think that I'll be mentally up to such a long stretch of concentration immediately. To that end, I have decided to slide into it gradually by immersing myself in scholarly material and in fact, have read an entire book today. Consequently the mental cylinders are starting to fire up and I am starting to feel more enthusiastic and energetic about getting some words down. It did get to the stage, before the holidays, where I was accessing academic websites and thinking that I really couldn't care less about what was written there.
So the new term spreads ahead, and I am looking forward to it with the sort of anticipation that I got when I bought a new pencil case and crayons in my childhood. All good!
