Highlights Halfway Through the Week

It's been a sort of strange week.  It's been a long time since I've had family visiting but still had to work long hours.  But they knew it would be this way when they made the arrangements, so I don't feel as guilty as I might otherwise.  And I'm glad that they're willing to come to me, since I don't have the vacation time to come to them.

To recap:  my sister and nephew arrived on Thursday night, and my mom and dad arrived on Monday.  Here are some highlights from this time of family:

--On Monday night, we had a great meal of grilled salmon, asparagus, and grilled clams that got put in a broth of garlic, white wine, and butter.  Yumm.

--Yesterday as I took a brief walk, I thought of the left over salmon and how good it would be with bagels and cream cheese.  I shortened my walk and went out to get some bagels and cream cheese.  And yes, it was delicious.

--But it hasn't all been about the food.  Last night, there was some time in the pool--well, my nephew was in the pool.  It's still a bit chilly for the rest of us.  We played a game with complicated rules--my nephew specializes in made-up games with complicated rules.  He would run across the back yard, leap in the pool, while making some kind of action, and we were to guess what he was impersonating.  So there would be an elephant trunk, for example, or a karate kick.  There were moments of hilarity as we guessed wrong.

--We are trying to avoid renting a car--as I've said, I usually drive my car to work where it sits for 8 or 10 hours.  They might as well use the car.  So far, it's worked.  It hasn't been too onerous, at least not for me. 

Even though my family has been here, and I've felt some sadness that I can't be fully with them, it's been a good week at work.  Some highlights:

--I spent a large chunk of Monday looking for information that we needed for one set of reports.  I knew it was there somewhere, but I couldn't find it.  Finally I found it, and when I got to the office yesterday, our own specialist had done some calculus magic to give us the satisfaction percentage that we needed.

--I was then able to write the text we needed to insert.  It was a great way to start Tuesday.

--Our specialist was on our campus on Monday.  We ran through some of the material I'll need to know for the visit.  At the end of our meeting, he said, "You'll do just fine."  Hurrah!

--Of course, he also told me, after reading some of the minutes that I had written, that my minutes have a narrative quality that isn't always useful.  I've been told such things before.  I think of an experience I had writing my dissertation; someone told me I needed to "muddy up my prose" so that I could write like a true academician.

--But happily, others on my academic team have written the kinds of minutes that we need.  I am amazed at all the writing (and paper!) that has gone into preparing for this visit.

--All of our binders have been made and labeled.  I spent yesterday moving them into the room that we've reserved for the accreditation visit.

--We are ready for our mock visit, which happens today.  So let me have another hearty breakfast like yesterday's (a bagel with cream cheese, salmon, and tomato) and get ready for the day.

My family will have a leisurely day, whether they decide to relax by the pool or head over to the beach--or both.  And then we'll gather at the end of the day for a delicious meal.  After dinner, my spouse and parents will head to church for choir rehearsal--Easter approaches!