Upon Reaching December

When Pandora opens it automatically restarts where it last left off: with “Jingle Bell Rock” and “O Holy Night.” Our house smells faintly of burnt wood. There are Ziploc baggies of cookies on the counter. My nightly ritual consists of plugging in lights at dusk and unplugging them before bed. Yes, such signs mean it is now December and the holiday season is in full throttle.

This year, though, it means even more. Having now reached December 2011 means I survived my first semester at my new job as an assistant professor. Some things are not so different, especially as I stare at the stack of essays and exams that need grading. Some things are only slightly different. I have still had the joy of Christmas baking and Christmas movie nights, though not with my long treasured friends, but with new friends I am quickly growing to love. I have a North Carolina Frasier Fir in my living room, though it was gotten in near tears in 40 degrees of pouring rain at the Home Depot.

And some things are vastly different. This year I won’t be preparing for MLA interviews, nor will I be frantically finishing a dissertation. I will, however, be putting together my tenure notebook for my first tenure review in January. When I look back at the last several Christmas breaks it does strike me that they have been defined by some of the most monumental milestones in our field. (I hope this causes people who complain about the long breaks professors get to give that a second thought).

Maybe that’s why it only feels natural that I have a make-or-break sort of project like the tenure notebook to keep me occupied during the holiday. Oh, don’t worry. There will plenty of festivities. I’m already slowly working through the Christmas movie list (The original How the Grinch Stole Christmas, check. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, check.). And I am nearly sick of eating Christmas cookies and listening to Christmas music. I am working my way steadily through Christmas cards, wrapping paper, and tape.

I do feel a sense of accomplishment that I completed my first semester here without major incident, or, in other words, successfully. Putting the notebook together will involve much reflection, so I suspect my posts throughout December on the blog will include more thoughts evaluating my experience. Right now, though, I am enjoying the feeling of knowing I finished, without dissecting it any further than that.

Thanks to all of you who have been “listening” to my thoughts this semester. I hope to be a little more consistent with my weekly posts. If there is anything you particularly want to hear about, professional or personal, about my transition from graduate student to full-time faculty, from North Carolina to Texas, just let me know.