A Deep Breath for the Last Week of July

An open letter to my community, but also for higher ed professionals and students everywhere:

Today starts the last week of July. Even in normal years, I like to think of this week as the deep breath before diving into the pool. Yes, planning and preparing for the fall has happened all summer, but the tone shifts in August. Yes, many of you have been working EXTRA hard this summer to prepare for the unique fall that comes in 2020. But we need to be honest—everything we’ve thought so far about the fall was preliminary and full of contingencies, which makes us extra anxious... extra tired.

Deep breath before diving in. Breathe in, breathe out.

Some of us are dealing with the uncertainty by working more. Some of us are dealing with the uncertainty by checking out. It’s all human. It’s all beautifully human. You’re okay. We’re okay. Breathe in, breathe out.

Oh dear hearts. It’s not even just the stress of a pandemic, but the heartache of a hurting world that is not just, that is not equitable—where the same people keep leading and the same people keep profiting and we lose sight of the hope of change and new life.

Breathe in, breathe out. The dive in can be refreshing. The cool water against a hot face, you know?

So it is the last week of July. Can you take a deep breath? Can you lay in bed a few minutes longer? Make a meal you love? Dance a little wilder? Laugh a little louder? Stack joy like marbles in a jar that you can take out when you need them this fall? Because beloved, I can’t tell you what the fall brings. We never can tell, of course, but this year we’re admitting that we don’t know. Maybe this approach will serve us well.

Tell me what joy you’re going to collect this week, and I’ll ask you about it later. These marbles will sustain us. Feel the cool water on your hot face. Deep breath before we dive.