Still Grounded

I’ve been home since Saturday night. The work picked up fast: Summer I grading, Summer II prep, a steady stream of meetings. Yesterday started with a four-hour Zoom block—book project in the morning, Real-Time Crime Center project in the afternoon. Then an in-person meeting with one of our incoming grad students—a former undergrad I was glad to see walking back into the department. The day closed with faculty search planning. Time to get the job ad posted and the wheels turning.

More students and colleague meetings today, for projects and planning. But I’m not running on fumes. Not yet.

The grounding from Mexico hasn’t worn off. I’m still carrying it—trying to. That sense of clarity, of holding steady even when the pace picks up or the headlines flare.

And they keep flaring. A widening war between Iran and Israel. Trump rattling sabers abroad while the MAGA coalition cracks at home. He’s also pushing a “Made in USA” phone plan that’s actually built in China, because of course he is. The grift is policy now. The spectacle is the administration.

I’m doing my best to stay present—not reactive, not disengaged. Just steady.

Because public service, if it means anything, has to feel like presence. Like care. Not like control. Not like a con.