Greetings, faithful Daily Dawg readers—I’m back!  I’m pleased to report that the original Law Dawg is back on task.  What…..you didn’t know I was gone???? Well, that’s probably because Christine Badillo and Jennifer Childress did such a good job with the Dawg in my absence.  But the fact is that I am just coming back from a three-month “no work” break.

I’m glad to be back at work.  On the other hand, during this three-month break which I called “practice for retirement” I noticed that I did not miss work one little bit. There are plenty of things to do, many of them downright enjoyable.  I went swimming a lot.  I read some good books (Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, God Save Texas by Lawrence Wright, Reporter by Seymour Hersh, The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton, Astroball by Ben Reiter, News of the World by Paulette Jiles, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders and Word by Word by Kory Stamper).  I can recommend each one of these books. I participated in an eight-day silent retreat at a Jesuit Retreat Center in Massachusetts, and helped my wife recover from a broken ankle after she fell off a Segway in Grant Park in Chicago. Sigh.  That task made me eager to return to work.  “Sorry, honey! Gotta go to the office!”

All of that is behind me now, and I’m eager to resume Daily Dawg duties as we approach another school year.  Many thanks to Christine and Jennifer for taking this off my plate for three months.

Tune in tomorrow for Toolbox Tuesday!

DAWG BONE: MAYBE SOME OF YOU WHO CLAIM TO BE “RETIRED” BUT KEEP SHOWING UP AT WORK-RELATED CONFERENCES OUGHT TO “PRACTICE” FOR RETIREMENT BEFORE YOU DO IT.  JUST A THOUGHT.

 Tomorrow: Toolbox Tuesday!!