Midterm mayhem is in full swing, and my silence last week was due to a family emergency that had me scrambling to rearrange my schedule and shift gears to keep my head above water as the tsunami of grading pours in. I kept thinking about that infamous I Love Lucy episode where Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance work on an assembly line and try to keep on top of wrapping chocolates that are coming faster and in larger quantities down the conveyor belt.

Life is full of unexpected events, and these are the times we need to shed any pretense of perfectionism and our original game plan. As I told many of my students this past week, there is no shame in acknowledging when you are in over your head. If that means handing in an assignment that is incomplete and/or maybe not up to your standards, rethinking your expectations for a project, or even dropping a course that you know you are already failing, there is virtue in recognizing and facing the reality of the situation. The most important thing is not to beat yourself up about it. Look forward and carry on. Enjoy the weekly round up 😁