On Leave (Sort of)
I am officially on leave. Out of office. Unavailable. In theory. In practice… it’s complicated. Because even when I put up the out-of-office reply and silence the notifications (well, some of them), I can’t quite silence the chatter in my own head. What’s happening while I’m gone? Are the projects moving forward? Has anyone noticed I’m not there? Or worse… has no one noticed I’m not there? Welcome to the spiral. That special cocktail of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), curiosity, and just a touch of control-freakery. Served with a generous splash of guilt. At first, I tried to justify it. “I just want to make sure everything is okay.” “I’ll just check this one email.” “It’s easier to answer this quickly than to deal with it in a week.” But the truth is: stepping away is hard. Especially when you’ve built your professional life on being present, responsive, involved. And yet—life went on. Emails were answered. Decisions were made. Projects progressed. Students found their way. Co...