Adjusting My Plans

So, I'm planning the next few months with consideration that my getting well and staying well is my #1 job for now.

 I have a great semester of teaching and advising underway at Quinnipiac University, but I'm going to step aside on March 7.  I will get my students through the mid-term exam and then introduce them to the prof  who taught the class when I had to take a semester off for my first rounds of chemo - one of my former PR colleagues who has agreed to take over the class.

I plan to stay on for the rest of the semester (early May) as an advisor.  Then, after 7 great years,  I will be retiring from QU. 

I spoke with my department chair today who prefers to think of my departure as a "leave of absence" and he said I am welcome back anytime (nice!)  But, realistically, I don't know when I'll be back in chemo again and I want to be fair to the university and the students.  They deserve to have someone who is consistently present.

And, for me, getting off the academic calendar gives me more freedom for volunteering, vacations, and enjoying the good life.