Professor Sharon

I have a greeting card I picked up at some point (maybe in my favorite card shop – Jules Besch Stationers -in Wellfleet, Cape Cod) that has a small child looking grumpy over a bowl of cereal as the illustration. At the top of the card it says “Any idiot can face a crisis — it’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.” Anton Chekhov

I’ve mentioned this card several times in the last couple of days. About a year ago when this sabbatical idea and trip came up, it was just that : a grand idea! Well, many months later, it is still a grand idea, but the idea in the last few days is lost in the details. I wouldn’t even want to list a fraction of the pages of details we have been working our way through. Some are really important, of course: passport pictures, passports, international driver’s license, hotel reservations, housesitter, and on and on. Some, I think others would think, why are you doing that? We decided, although of course we plan and hope not necessary, that it would be a good time to update our will. Let me tell you: wills take not only challenging conversations but lists and numbers and other information you know you have but you never figured out where you put it but you have to find it so you can put it all in one place with a lawyer. And while I have procured a house sitter, it’s fairly astonishing how long and detailed the “please take care of this and watch out for that” list is getting.

I have to admit to beginning to get excited, although today also brought the thought of how long and how short four months is going to feel once we are living it.