Last Day of Reading Week

Today is my last full day of reading week.  Tomorrow I'll drive back to my seminary apartment and dive back in to my life as an MDiv student; I should be there in time for my 6:30 p.m. class that meets virtually.  

I've put the week to good use.  I've gotten my papers written, my genogram drawn, my sermon constructed (well, that one is in process, but it will be done today), and caught up on my reading.  I've taken walks through the neighborhoods around the seminary, and we've gone on some hikes on the Lutheridge property.  I've reconnected in person with my family.  I've made a quick trip to the North Carolina mountains which has fed my soul in so many ways.

In some ways, reading week has been a welcome disruption of a schedule I've only just established.  Part of me always wishes that we didn't take a break.  Part of me is happy for the unstructured time.  Part of me today is wondering how I will get my academic groove back.

It has been good to get back to my little house at Lutheridge, the house I love so much, even in its unfinished state.  It will be hard to leave on Monday, in part because I'm leaving my spouse, but in part because I love the North Carolina mountains.

What's really strange is this status of loving two places so much:  my seminary apartment and my North Carolina house.  When I created the plans for what I might do if my job ended, I had no sense that I might have a house in the North Carolina mountains.  I know that I'm very lucky to be able to afford both this house and a seminary apartment.  But it's also strange to spend time feeling homesick for 2 places at once, even when I'm at one of them.