Yesterday was worse than a Marathon Monday. It involved my being on campus from a little after 9am until 1:30am. Falling asleep around 2, I found myself awake by 8am. YUCK! The end of the semester is here and with it comes a mountain of grading, attempts at trying to clean out the inbox, meetings galore, prepping for spring semester classes, and finalizing finals. Tomorrow will be the last day of classes I will teach for this semester with my first final being on Saturday morning.
In addition to meeting deadlines and trying to facilitate a smooth transition to the spring, my other goal for getting it all done is so that I can truly enjoy the time out in California with Adam and his family that I will be spending over the holidays. He reminded me last night that we only have 12 days until I fly out there!
While the thought of being with him is so exciting and of course spending time with his family and meeting new members, it's also a bit nerve inducing to think about all that needs done before then. I hope my car will be out of the shop. I would love to have all 96 of the Christmas cards I just finished be sent off in the mail. It would be terrific if I could leave four separate piles of syllabi freshly printed in my office so that I don't have to step foot on campus over break. The house needs cleaned and cookies need baked. Oh, I need to pack too! Then there is also the pesky little thing I do called being a professor in grading end of the semester projects and finals. Ack! It's enough to make me want to dive under the covers and throw a pillow over my head. Reflecting on all this with Marybeth during our coffee date this morning, we wondered if I should push up some of these end of the semester due dates in the spring so that I can try to avoid some of this craziness in early May. I have a feeling I will already be super stressed with the wedding being rightaroundthecorner at that time so it might not be such a bad idea.
The thought of spending this year's Christmas in California, sunny warm sunny relaxing sunny California, is very appealing. I love to try new things and go new places. However, at the same time, a part of my heart will be in Schuylkill County with my parents and I can even say that I will miss the snowy (but not icy), cozy, holiday season that I have always, up until now, spent with my parents. This past year has been full of transitions much like the previous years leading up to it and I know there are many more to come in 2015. I can only imagine the thoughts and feelings that will be running through me the afternoon of Saturday, May 23, 2015. I wonder if it will feel a bit like when I came around the corner on the floor of the Coliseum with my trusted advisor at UNCG's graduation this past May. The morning had been a chaotic one with waking up in a house busting at the seams with my family as we all prepared to celebrate the long-awaited graduation day together. It wasn't until that very moment as we walked out onto the brightly lit floor of the arena filled with well-wishers and seeing everything in all it's pomp and circumstance glory that it hit me that this was really happening. I remember blinking back tears as we walked the long walk to our seats at the front just before the stage. The neatest part, other than having Dr. Compton sitting next to me, was glancing up to my left and spotting my family in that huge crowd. They had chosen perfect seats in terms of our being able to see each other throughout the ceremony. I wonder if that same rush of excitement, nerves, and sheer happiness will come crashing down on me as my Dad and I enter St. Joseph Church and see the faces of Adam's and my family and friends wishing us well. It may seem silly comparing a graduation to a wedding but perhaps it isn't. Both are monumental events and both have not happened without struggles. I digress....looking ahead to 170 days from now when I should be grading and preparing for tomorrow's last day of classes.
Yesterday, I told my morning class about how even though I got up super early to get ready for school (folks apparently noticed since I received compliments on my hair, scarf, boots, outfit, etc. all day), that I forgot my planner (that listed the plans for each of the classes I was teaching, the meeting times and locations, and my to-do list) and inhaler at home. Perhaps God is trying to help me to sloooooow down and try to live in the present instead of constantly checking to see what meeting is coming up and what needs to be done next on the list. Speaking of which, check out this AWESOME blog posting by my friend Jessie about waiting. It is pretty timely considering we are currently experiencing Advent. I think I'm going to print it and share it with my students as a parting gift after they finish their finals!
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. - Colossians 3:14
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