Senioritis

I have ten days of work left before I go on maternity leave, and it feels like the last weeks of school. On one hand, my head is in the clouds, dreaming about my new baby. On the other hand, I have a lot of loose ends to tie up at the office, clients and projects to hand off to coworkers, and - this is perhaps the hardest - tasks which must be permanently relinquished because no one will ever have time to complete them.

The week before Liam was born, I declared Email Bankruptcy. I had already taken care of the urgent/important messages. I selected everything else, amounting to hundreds of messages, took a deep breath as my finger hovered over the delete button, and wiped the slate clean. It was terrifying and liberating. I expected consequences. For months after I returned to work, I waited for my punishment. Nothing ever happened, other than that some people were horrified when I confessed.

Since then, I've learned to manage email better, and I usually leave the inbox empty at the end of a workday. I intend to enjoy these last ten days, really relish them, savoring the control I have over my own schedule, the opportunity to interact with adults from across the country, and to work with concepts and ideas and goals that can be achieved. Soon I will need to become intensely focused on one small person. Milk and poop and sleep will eclipse all else. Here's hoping I can find serenity in both situations.