A lot of things are happening next week. The obvious ones: A new semester kicks off, with a first guest lecture and the first session of "After Religion" Tuesday and Wednesday. These happen to be the eve and day of the presidential inauguration, which we all pray comes about peacefully - but prayer is probably needed. That's enough stress to fill one's plate. I hope it's the last time course planning is hostage to the trolling and bullying of the soon to be twice-impeached, and look forward to feeling involved and invested in a process of democratic rebuilding, not the chaotic free-fall of the last years. As with last week's attack on the U. S. Capitol, though, we probably don't know the full extent of the damage we'll have to address, and the response of those who've been convinced their world is ending will be painful...
I have additional stressors of a more personal sort, too! On Sunday I'm the speaker for an adult education forum at my church, invited to reflect on how my faith has affected my "vocation" (a topic I've, as a certain kind of religious studies scholar, assiduously avoided)... And then next Saturday is my birthday, an unnerving double palindrome.
