Mow Thinking

I had to mow yesterday. Let that sink in for a minute. I had to mow...in March...and it took me three hours because it was so long. Sigh.

I digress. Last summer, I needed mowing. Of course, I needed to mow so I wouldn't get a nasty-gram from the HOA. I needed the mowing to think, though. It was when I ran through transcripts and observations in my head. Coding. Looking for counter-evidence. Pulling together themes. The noise of the mower drowned out any other sound, and the repetition of walking back and forth mindlessly cleared my head to do some of my best thinking. I could come back in, compile files, and write. It was a gift.

Yesterday, I fired up the mower, settled in to the familiar hum and pattern, and my mind went blank. Just blank. No transcripts. No code. No counter-evidence. It was...odd. I'm in a bizarre transition in my career between doc student and full-fledged academic. I have a a few projects in the works and articles in process, but I have a feeling that nothing will ever quite compare with the intensity of the dissertation...and I'm not sure how I feel about that.