Back to Work

Working for an educational institution has definite benefits when it comes to the holidays.  Along with all our students, those of us on faculty and staff have come to love our Christmas break, giving us almost two weeks of respite from meetings, classes, projects and deadlines. 

This year, the return to normal was off to a slow start.  A number of people extended their breaks with a vacation day or two and I found myself almost totally alone in our office suite on my second day back.  It was conducive to getting a lot done, but the quiet was also a little disconcerting.  Still, as a new year starts, I am surrounded by lots of good intentions - on the parts of many - to grab 2009 with a fervent desire to do more, do better and fill up that clean slate of a calendar with wonderful accomplishments and successes.

Another example of this fervor can be found at our local community center where my husband and I try to work out three times a week.  We get up at the ungodly hour of 5:10 a.m. and after blindly pulling on sweatpants, socks, t-shirts and shoes, are on the treadmill or elliptical no later than 5:40.  It's a good thing my husband drives because I tend to nod off on our short trip to the center.  Actually, it's a good thing he even sets the alarm and gets out of bed so quickly - I'm sure that I wouldn't make half the sessions if we didn't exercise together.

On the first Monday after New Year's, all the treadmills were in use as we arrived:  the "resolutionists" had taken over.  So, instead of my usual run, I did my cardio on one of those machines that makes you look like you are riding a bike while standing up.  I then had to wait for a bench for free weights and also had to squeeze my floor mat into an area that put me in peril of being stepped on. As irritating as the newbie onslaught was, we knew it wouldn't last long.  Give it a month, I thought, and we would be back to the usual early morning gang with lots of machines to choose from.  

The change was already obvious this morning - Wednesday.  Maybe the inch or so of snow kept people from coming in, or they were still sore from Monday - who knows? But so much for resolutions, at least as far as working out goes.  On the other hand, we may see them back on Friday, or perhaps they came in later. 

I'm hoping that a renewed excitement for the work we do in education will last longer than the desire to exercise away all that holiday overeating - not that such a desire isn't admirable, but I do so enjoy the enthusiasm on most people's parts as we return to our jobs.  Even as people show up, bemoaning the fact that our break was over too quickly, many do seem to approach work with a reinvigorated spirit that gets us off on the right foot.  

It's a nice feeling to turn the page on the calendar (or click the arrow on any electronic version) for a new year. Dates start to fill in and we're back to our busy selves, but not without a little more energy and optimism.  Even many who didn't have much of a break and put in regular hours during the days between Christmas and New Year's know the feeling - here's to 2009!