gracious

Last Saturday morning Jedsen and I were cozied up on his loveseat eating Cheerios and watching "Man vs. Food." He actually got up early with me, and we had one of the best collections of moments together in a while. We sat, snuggled, and watched. We laughed, gagged, and loved.

This morning I'm facing 22 papers. 22 papers to finish grading by Monday, only to get 35 more in the middle of the week. But after that point, it will be fine. I'll have a deadline but won't have to write comments on every one of them. So, as you can imagine, my anxiety's freaking out about it. I need to go for a walk. Walk somewhere in Lawrence. I want to walk to the river. The Kaw River. But I fear for those who sleep under the bridge. I fear the mosquitoes that ate me last time. I fear spending an hour walking when I could be grading or working on the two essay revisions that are also due Monday. But then I think about the benefits of exercise on the body and the mind. I should go walk. I should put on those new shoes and walk. I need to lose this fat and reclaim my mind.