Relief...

Such a good feeling.

I am relieved that Ohio State beat Michigan today. If not, K would have been in a very negative mood which would have put a damper on our weekend. To show my support for the game today, I made Three-Way Cincinnati Chili for lunch today, which apparently is quite the big deal in Ohio. One of my staff members gave me a couple of the local brands of chili mix with the recipe to fix "if I am truly going to be an Ohio wife." I didn't know what to expect, but it was actually quite yummy and I think K enjoyed the nostalgic meal as well.

I am relieved that I (finally!) just finished writing all of my thank-you notes from the wedding within the 3-month recommended timeline. Whew! That has been a task that has been hanging over my shoulders since we got back from the honeymoon, but it seems like our time has been filled with so many other things since then (out of town running trips, teaching stuff, etc.) that it has just been impossible to find the time. This was the first weekend of the past few where we were (a) in town, (b) not focused on running (although I have an 18-miler out at Bastrop planned for tomorrow), and (c) not busy doing things for my class.

I am relieved that the semester is almost over. There is one more class remaining after Thanksgiving, but it just consists of the students completing their course evaluations and turning in their final video/paper projects so I don't have any prep work to do for it. However, I will be quite busy for the 1 1/2 weeks after that grading their projects and getting the final grades in. I'm really skeptical of whether this is something that I want to do again. While the extra money has been nice and has allowed me/us to do some additional things, it has been A LOT of work on top of my full-time job. It has come at the expense of time with K and friends, as well as time for myself. I have been so focused on career for so many years at the expense of other things that I don't want to go back to that. Other things are more important to me at this point in my life.

I am relieved that K and I have each other. We had a (very) rare night out downtown last night for dinner and drinks with a single friend of K's. It reminded me (as if I needed reminding) that I am so glad to be out of that lifestyle. I think K might have even realized it too.