Academic Life: Stress and Self-Care

  It's getting to be that time of year again - time to return to classes.  A lot has gone on during the summer.  I've gotten engaged, and my fiancé has taken on a position in a new program at work which will have him back working from home taking voice calls again for half of the week.  A lot is up in the air, though.  We don't know what his actual schedule will be, if it will be something consistent or vary day-to-day, or even when he might get a day off.  And, while I'm still teaching from home for another semester, there's a lot of uncertainty about the delta variant of Covid and what the rising positivity rates will mean in the next few months.  So much uncertainty doesn't set well with either of us.  And, our stress levels are through the roof.   For me, one way to deal with this is to exert some sort of control over my immediate space.  So, I always spend a day or so organizing and cleaning in preparation for the new semester.  And, of course that means ne