Hello again… and yes, I know.
If you’re thinking, “Didn’t she just come back in January?” ... you are absolutely right. And somehow, here we are at the end of March with another unexpected gap between posts. So before we do anything else, let me go ahead and say it: I’m sorry for disappearing again.
The short version? This semester has been full in every possible way. The slightly longer version… well, that’s what this post is for.
Since the start of the year, things have been moving fast both at work and at home. I’m mostly moved into the new house now...which feels like a win...but there are still boxes to unpack and plenty left to organize. At the same time, my old house is almost ready to go on the market. We’re in that in-between stage of cleaning, lining up repairs, and waiting on a few final pieces before it’s ready to list.
Not long after the semester started, my academic department chair reached out and asked if I could step in to substitute teach a course while they worked on getting a new faculty member onboarded. I agreed... because that’s what we do, but it did mean adding a full course to an already full schedule for about four weeks.
At the same time, our team has been navigating some transitions. One of our instructional designers accepted another position, and her last day happened to fall right on my birthday...so that was a memorable mix of celebration and “well… this just got real.” With us being short-handed, I had to make the difficult call to step back from teaching the B-Term course I was originally scheduled to teach. As much as I enjoy teaching, there simply wasn’t enough capacity to do everything well, and something had to give.
All of this while I’m currently working through my second-to-last course in the graduate certificate program I’ve been chipping away at, so that’s been a steady commitment in the background. On top of that, my boss enrolled our team in the Creative Commons for Educators certification course, which has been a great learning experience...but also another set of deadlines to keep up with. The final project for that is coming up this next week, so if I look a little extra focused (or slightly panicked), that would be why.
In between all of that, I’ve also been developing and facilitating a number of training sessions for faculty. It’s work I genuinely enjoy, and I believe in it...but I’ll be honest, I do wish more faculty would take advantage of those opportunities. I still show up, prepare the materials, and carve out the time for the sessions, even if it ends up being a smaller group than I’d hoped. The ones who do attend make it worthwhile, and that’s what keeps me going.
On a more exciting note, I also had the opportunity to attend the 2026 Train the Trainer Applied A.I. Leadership Summit hosted by the Tennessee State University SMART Center. I just got back on Wednesday, and it was such a great experience. I even had the chance to share some of the work I’ve been doing with AI, which was both a little nerve-wracking and a lot of fun. It’s always energizing to be in a space where people are exploring new ideas and thinking creatively about what’s possible.
I’ll also be heading to Atlanta in April for a regional convening, which I’m looking forward to. It will be another opportunity to connect, learn, and bring back ideas that can support the work we’re doing.
Back on campus, we’re also in the middle of several searches, including a new LMS Administrator, an Online EdTech Specialist, and multiple instructional designer positions. It’s an exciting time for growth, but it also means a lot of moving pieces behind the scenes as we work to rebuild and expand the team.
Somewhere in the middle of all of this, Gracie and I did start working on her second book. We’ve made some progress, but I’ll be honest...it’s been hard to carve out the focused time needed to really push it across the finish line. It’s still very much in motion, and I’m hoping that once the semester wraps up, I can give it the attention it deserves and move it closer to release.
At this point, “busy” feels like an understatement...but it’s also a season with a lot of meaningful work, progress, and a few bright spots mixed in. I’m doing my best to stay focused on what matters most, take things one step at a time, and give myself a little grace when everything doesn’t fit neatly into the schedule.
I’m hoping to get back into a more consistent rhythm with writing as things begin to settle, but for now, I’ll just say thank you for sticking around...even when these posts show up a little farther apart than planned. I’m still here, still working, and still have plenty to share… just maybe not always on a perfectly predictable timeline.