Victory and Gratitude

Last semester I worked a double shift teaching and advising while trying to comprehensively re-organize the department's course offerings and work schedule. The spring semester was free of teaching and full of writing. I am very grateful to have so much done towards tenure. I also have wonderful co-authors who are patient and hardworking. I counted the accomplishments of the past year a genuine success with a footnote - we had yet to receive approval for the revised course scheduling and workload... until last week.
For nearly 30 years, no one had stopped to consider if we were teaching the right classes at the right times or if we were spinning our wheels teaching 4 classes per semester. A simple logical solution (prompted by a budget crisis and subsequent furlough) was to reorganize and do some mind-numbing data work. The result is that our new workload is 3 classes per semester, with dedicated research time in our work time allocation. The obvious trade off is that the classes are slightly larger, but the difference between 50 and 65 students in a class is so small that no one is disadvantaged. Our department is one of the most prominent on campus and will likely serve as a model to transform workloads throughout the college.
So, on gratitude... I am extremely blessed. For once, a logical solution worked its way to approval in a large highly bureaucratic university. I am grateful for the bursts of writing accomplishment interspersed with lots of family time. I am grateful for 90% of a salary when I could be unemployed. I am grateful for those who have given us a nice place to land in case of emergencies. And as much as I complain about the past, I am grateful for those who have given me the support and tools to get where I am. Life is good.