Challenge # 2

Hello everyone! Do you remember how I set off on a challenge to improve my life a bit?

I will not deny it, I started with the small things, like waking up early and have a bit of time to myself. It somewhat worked a couple of days ago (remember this post?) and yesterday, and not at all today. Since I am trying to be self-indulgent, I surrendered to the fact that not every day is created equal (trying to embrace Max Greenfield's mantra). And because I was not stuck up about enforcing the waking-up-at-6-am rule I actually discovered, or better remembered, something about myself. I have never been a morning person. When I was studying for my PhD, I used to work until 4 or 5 am, and then sleep until noon. My most productive hours were those last ones before going to bed then as much as, I realized, now. That last hour before going to sleep, and often the last 10 minutes before switching the light off, is when thoughts and ideas accumulate in my mind. Often, I switch the light off and then turn it on again for a few minutes to make notes. Yesterday evening, for instance, I did it because I had not written down an important milestone that my son has experienced (I keep track of those on my iPhone): his first grown-up playdate, where he was picked up from school by a friend's mom, had lunch at his friend's house, and then went to the park where I joined him.

Back to the point. In the past couple of days, I tackled a second challenge: not give up on this blog. You may wonder why I was thinking about giving up on it in the first place. The things is that, in spite of the deep personal satisfaction and enrichment I get from it and from you, lately I have been going through a difficult moment because of our imminent departure and I felt I had nothing to write. I felt that, compared to the hollow I feel in my soul because I am leaving my aging parents alone in Italy while I go back to my normal life in Canada, to talk about fashion and clothing to buy was shallow and meaningless. Add to that the fact that, as of June 1, my sabbatical leave has ended and I resumed my actual job. I will not be teaching until October, but in the meantime I need to reconnect with my colleagues, my students, my research, and the rest of my academic life. I was thus (and I am still) uncertain about the time I can devote to this blog.

I decided not to give up, and you know what? As soon as the decision was made, it felt like unlocking the door to my creativity. Did you notice the flow of new posts that have been pouring in? I hope you liked them.

P.S. I was looking for an image to add to this post and I found this picture by Diana Maria Briceag at 500px titled precisely "Don't give up, believe in your dreams." I think it is beautiful, don't you?