Do what you can, when you can
Well, Christmas is safely packed away in the loft. According to my fitness watch I both finished 2025 and started 2026 strong. Actually, I did no such thing. I finished work on the 19th December, I had a pretty quiet time but it has really taken me until now to feel even remotely rested. I finished 2025 slowly recovering from exhaustion and being at capacity for too long. The first day of 2026 has been the same. With Christmas decorations taken down, the house returned to its normal, though not yet fully cleaned, state, my thoughts turned to going back to work. I go back tomorrow, I suspect many academic friends and colleagues will go back on Monday.
Anyway, I think almost every year I have done some work over the Christmas period. I thought I would this time. I have some writing projects to progress, stuff to do that is nice, fun. though still work. But I didn’t. I didn’t log on at all. I didn’t read anything work related, I didn’t write anything work related and I haven’t really thought about it much at all. Until today. Because now suddenly it feels like I need a plan for tomorrow and that means knowing what needs doing urgently… and so I nearly logged on. And then I gave myself a good telling off that may have included some swear words and ‘idiot’.
Starting back after the break on a Friday is actually perfect. Tomorrow I make the plan, I get things in order and ready for Monday. Preparation for work is work. It can be done in work time. And of course I forgot the key thing, the thing that I try as much as I can to stress to colleagues, PhD students and anyone who will listen really: Nothing in our job is ever actually urgent. Nobody is standing by us bleeding from a major artery, nothing is literally on fire, nobody is in immediate danger. I deal in words on pages, arbitrary deadlines, reports nobody reads… I am not saying that what I do as an academic isn’t important – some of it is – but we put the urgency into the work we do. The work is not inherently urgent. In fact I think that maybe the work would be better if we took any urgency out of it. If we properly slowed down. We need to keep reminding ourselves and each other of that.
Anyway, I have already rambled more than I intended to! I really just wanted to post to wish you a calm, peaceful, creative and kind 2026. I know that in an academic world that is in such a mess, that wish might seem out of reach, ridiculous even, but we have to try. There is hope, there are amazing people working in universities doing amazing things in spite of the conditions we have to survive in. There are people who are actively trying to improve those conditions – on large scales or through tiny acts of solidarity and resistance. Higher Education has lost its way, that doesn’t mean all those within it have. Resistance is exhausting, it takes its toll, demands a price.. whatever cliche you want to throw at it. So this is a sort of rallying cry but it is one that I have been thinking since I used the phrase in a post for my running blog earlier today: Do what you can, when you can. If we all do what we can, when we can to reclaim at least some of what Higher Education can be, maybe we can make some progress and maybe more of us can return to really enjoying our work more of the time.
Happy New year from me and my furry mental health team: Storm, Kilian, Odin and Einstein. Take care of each other.
100 Days of Wonder – #88
Merry Christmas all. I hope you have had a lovely peaceful day full of wonder and joy.
Our day started with coffee in bed, a mince pie, giggles and exchanging our presents. Then we went for our tradition morning run and had breakfast and more presents with Kath’s mum before coming home and slowly sorting a late lunch for us and our mums. We’ve played with the cats, giggled, eaten too much and generally had a magical day. I hope you have too.
100 Days of Wonder – #87
I love Christmas Eve. At least now I do. I’m not sure I did as a kid really. My memories aren’t entirely clear though. I remember more snow than I know there was. I remember walking past churches with lovely choirs and organs playing (probably only happened once). I also remember grown-ups arguing and me being bored. There were plenty Christmas Eves at my Oma and Opa’s place in Hamburg when I was little. I always thought German Christmas wasn’t particularly kid friendly – waiting until after dinner, then open presents. Seems like a recipe for grumpy, overtired children. I also remember Christmas Eves in the UK, grandma’s old house which might as well have been Narnia, the dog Timmy which is the only dog ever I wasn’t scared of and the cat Puss who was the most cat of cats and didn’t really like anyone. Loved that cat. Whatever and wherever I suspect I could always be packed off with a book so it’s not like Christmas Eve wasn’t nice. Anyway, I am not a good judge of Christmas traditions because ours have always been muddled, mixing English and German, ‘doing’ Christmas with both parents and, because I am people pleasing me, keeping everyone happy. And my memory is awful too so it’s entirely possible I have just made stuff up. But now I love Christmas Eve because it’s magical. It’s magical partly because I am an adult and pay lots for therapy so I no longer feel the need to keep everyone happy and can do whatever I want without feeling guilty about it.
So, Christmas Eve this year is lush. I picked up our turkey and a few other bits and pieces up from our local farm shop this morning, then I chatted to Kath’s mum about our upcoming Disney holiday while we waited for Kath to finish work. After lunch Kath had an afternoon nap and I checked in on where Santa was on the tracker (thanks Sky TV) and faffed around a bit. So far Christmas Eve has already brought me 2 books in the gorgeous icelandic Jolabokaflod tradition which we have (along with many others) adopted over the last few years. I am about to do some food prep for tomorrow when Kath is done in the kitchen and after tea we are popping down to mum’s. We’ll be in bed early but I will definitely check the skies, just in case – would love to see the reindeer.
So what has this got to do with Disney and 100 Days of Wonder. Well, 2 things I think. I think Christmas Eve is filled with wonder. There’s no pressure, no expectations, in some ways it’s just another day but for those who dare to dream it also holds magic. It holds a ‘but what if…’ and even if you’re just laughing at me now and want to scream at me that Santa isn’t real… Christmas Eve is also an invitation to pause, reflect, be calm. Or at least it can be if that’s what we choose. And I don’t come at Christmas from religion. I am just here for the appropriation of pagan rituals and the magic we have read into the Christmas story and the magic we can experience if we just stop and breathe and scan the skies. Christmas Eve is joy and wonder. And second, Disney has over the years really helped me not care about what other people think. I don’t care if you are rolling your eyes right now. I want you to do you and leave me to do me. Am I too old for Disney? Magic isn’t real? Disney Theme Parks are dumb? Disney is for kids? It’s time for me to grow up and stop being so childish? All of those things have been suggested to me and when they were, I was embarrassed. For a while I made excuses. But I also had to acknowledge that Disney was giving me joy, making me laugh and making me happy. So I stopped listening. You can think what you want and tell me to my face, it really has no impact on me because I know that Disney makes me happy and that magic is what you create in the bubble around you. So I feel perfectly comfortable sharing with you that I will check the Santa tracker several more times, that I get excited about hearing the Polar Express bell and that I will never stop believing in the calmness and the reflective power and the what if of Christmas Eve.
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