The lack of blogging on my part is inexcusable. So I won’t bore you with dishonesty. The truth is that I’ve been choosing to spend my time differently these past few weeks. So here’s what I’ve done and where I’ve been:
1) My parents celebrated 60 years together and I spent some time traveling to Yonkers (just North of NYC for those non-New York types) for their celebration.
2) Preparing for the semester: The med students have been around for nearly 2 weeks now. I’ve spent 2 days with them in the gross anatomy lab but would like to get back there and spend some more time with them. Some students at mass who are med students came over to me and mentioned that they saw me in the lab–so it’s good visibility for me. Now I need to connect them to our community here at mass.
3) Spending time with wife and dog: I’ve been trying to prioritize my marriage, inspired by my own parents’ marriage. Soon the demands on my time will be huge. So while I still can, I’m spending a lot of time with Marion and Haze the dog. We even took in a Buffalo Bisons game.
4) Lastly, I’ve been on a retreat of sorts. An intentional inner one of deciding what direction I’d like to take the semester, what my own ministry looks like and who needs to be involved besides me in this ministry to the students and the faculty at UB. What side projects I can keep and what I need to say “no” to for ministry to be prioritized. It’s been a fruitful August.
So blogging will remain part of my life. I’ll mostly blog at the end of the day in the wee hours of the morning and it will probably take on more of an Examen feel to it. What happened today? Where was consolation and where was desolation and what do I need to tell God about it (and y’all too)?
Hope you stay along for the ride.