Time of the tulips

These baby pink tulips always sprout in early spring at the end of our backyard and they're always a feast to the eye. The beautiful yellow-and-red ones below also dot the front end of our yard but by now have been, inexplicably, beheaded by some creature, animal or bug. I'm glad that whatever decimates these hasn't found the others so I can still enjoy them every time I come in or out of our garage, or walk toward the alley behind our house.

This house also has a glorious magnolia tree in the front, which used to be overshadowed by the large maple that got cut down after a storm blew our neighbor's cottonwood tree onto it many years ago. After the maple was removed, the magnolia flourished, and every spring it regales us with its flamboyant beauty. An early spring storm, however, took down most of the flowers recently, so the show didn't last very long.

Of course, now I can look forward to the growing peonies, which get bigger every day, and to my bleeding hearts, which are also one of my favorites, a photo of which will be coming soon. Spring, by now, is undeniable, even if the temperatures continue to plummet unseasonably (we had two frost nights this past week and expect another tonight).

At work, the culmination of my year as Honors Director comes this weekend and all the t's are crossed and all the i's are dotted, so we'll see how that goes. When asked if I'm nervous, I point out that I planned my own wedding so I'm basically immune to major-activity-planning-related stress. I know something is bound to go wrong, so it's a matter of planning ahead and taking it in stride. Once Sunday afternoon comes, I'll be grateful to have done it and be done with it.

This is also the weekend when I supposedly hear the results of my tenure review, which strikes me as a bit ironic since I'll be so caught up with making sure Honors events all go as they should, especially for the students, that I'm going to have to remind myself that something important is about to happen to me, not just to the Honors candidates or the department. I worked long and hard for tenure, but I likely won't be able to savor it until after this semester is over, which can't come a moment too soon at this point.

Of course, I don't complain in any way, shape, or form since this semester has been significantly better at all levels than the last, and I've managed to strike a good balance (I think for the very first time ever) between work and rest, between maintaining my standards and keeping my sanity and well-being. I like to think that tenure is a reward for finally learning how to do this job in a sustainable way. Indeed, there is and will be much to celebrate once I finally have the time to do so.