Excused absence

Spring began this week, and with it, I hope, will come more than improving weather.

The winter that just ended was a blur, largely because of work, which meant little to no time or energy for blog posts. Things are, generally speaking, crazy at work. Several factors combine to make it so:

1) August through March is the busiest possible time in my job. That is the stretch that encompasses the college football and college basketball seasons. This year, we had two bowl games, one NCAA Tournament team, at least one major coaching transition and the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament in town.
2) The unprecedented changes currently unfolding in how people consume media.
3) The collapse of our economy.

The fact that all that coincides with Jasper's first six months of life and it's been all the more wild and wonderful, frustrating and fascinating, terrible and terrific -- all together, often back to back, in minute-to-minute spans.

On top of that, as a factor of Nos. 2 and 3, last week we got sizeable pay cuts, four furlough days and a capped pension. And while my job remains guaranteed (knock on wood), some of my good friends at work face the prospects of layoffs. And friends elsewhere are enduring much of the same.

It's all utterly exhausting.

Which is why the three-day weekend I'm on now is so very good. It's been so nice just to have time with Amy and Jasper. To simply go play in the park, like we did on Friday.