Contemplating

I'm looking at all the stuff going on, and all the things that are on the 'to do' list for the summer and coming to a conclusion. I think it might be best to take the fall semester off.

There are many benefits:
• I can get all the other things I need to finish done, like clearing out a storage unit and a garage of the extraneous crap.
• I can spend time with Chef on building his reading skills. The child is damn articulate, but that reading speed needs to pick up before high school.
• It gives me time to work on that contracting job that's coming up soon.
• It gives me time to develop a course from the ground up, and work on it while the kids are in school.
• There will be time to devote to looking at those top 20 schools in my program, and even visit them if it comes down to it-without the pressure of missing class.
• I won't feel like I'm deceiving my current school by enrolling in the program, then leaving in August.

And maybe, just maybe, the slower pace will help the Chiari issues.

They've been bad. I'm sitting here with a numb right arm, something that now happens each time I head to the laundromat. Not cool.

So far, the response from those who I've broached the subject has been positive. They know me, they know this research question will not go unanswered. At the same time, the feedback I got tonight from one is that she's been worried that I am not taking enough time to nurture my body. She's right.

So, it's not a definite, but this fall may be a brief hiatus before the next adventure.

Instead of hating the idea, it's sounding pretty good. To me, that means it's the right one to take.