Osler's Razor

I need to admit something.

I am wiped out. This Spring is a little too full, and I am losing airspeed. I fear that I am about to become the 787 Dreamliner of law professors.

There is no one to blame but myself; I signed up for all this. By "all this," here is part of what I mean:

-- I'm teaching nine credits this spring, over three classes. That includes a four-hour block for one fairly intensive class (criminal practice) on Fridays. That makes Friday a very long day.

-- This week, I also was one of the coordinators for a mock trial contest, so I had to be there on Thursday and Friday all afternoon and night, and then from 8-4 yesterday.

-- On top of that, I've got some serious scholarship work to do. This coming Friday, I am speaking at Stanford, on the topic of abortion. That won't be restful! Also, by Friday, I need to finish a book review for the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law.

-- In the middle of all this, I decided to write an op-ed called "Guns and Kittens." It needs some more work.

-- Today, I am speaking for black history month at First Covenant Church in Minneapolis, at the invitation of my friend and colleague Nekima Levy-Pounds.

-- A few days after the Stanford talk, I am going back to DC, to urge broader commutation on the crack cases I have worked on for years.

-- Then, the next day, the 21st, I turn 50. How did that happen? It feels very odd.

It's kind of like all of me is tired: My body, my mind, my soul.

But, I also know this. There will be a moment, tomorrow, in church, when there will be this glimpse of the Holy Spirit through the quiet, or in a child, or a question, or a song. Just a glimpse. But that is enough, really, enough to buoy me up, to set my feet and to feel joy. Life is good, all of it, and today, though I'm tired, my ears and my heart will be open.