respite

the weight of my life is heavy. i have many demands on my time and my sanity. much of this is self-inflicted: the academic life i've chosen comes with a lot of responsibility, and my personal life is certainly not something that was forced on me. but even though i do all of this of my own volition, the stress still builds until it's next to impossible to take.

that's why the warm early-spring sunshine that spread throughout the southeast friday afternoon made up my mind for me. yes, it was a beach-going weekend. so, with the ball and chain in tow, i got a weekend in my homeland to recharge, regroup and reconnect with a few people i care about. and man, was it amazing. forty-eight hours of cocktails, sunshine and socializing. it was exactly what i needed. yeah, i'm still enervated about a number of things, and yeah, my emotional health could be better. but there is almost nothing in my life that can't be cured by a day in the sun, drinking rum drinks and listening to the waves hit the shore. my decolletage is now an interesting shade of reddish-pink, my laundry is unfolded and my schoolwork is largely undone, but my soul is basically at ease for now. i'm now ready to face the world again.

i needed that.