One down, two to go....

Higher education in 2010 is incredible. After working hours on a take home exam, I had to upload it to two different sites for grading. Whatever happened to the days of handing a blue book to the teacher at the end of the exam? Oh yeah, that went the way of the dinosaur and the IBM Selectric.

I was so glad to have that test over, I can honestly say I don't care if I get an 'A'. Don't get me wrong! I'd love to get an 'A' on the exam, but I'd be happy with a 'B' and 'A' in the class, if that's possible. One test tomorrow night, and another one next week, and I can take a break.

The Testing Season Begins

My children have been given strict instructions. MOM IS NOT HOME THIS WEEKEND! If they speak to me, they'll get one of two responses. "I don't know you people", or "Go find your Dad". This weekend I have to work on two exams; one take home and one in class. The next week, I have a take home final as well, and then the semester will be over. Then I get to enjoy a month off, though I'll still have to teach. When you're juggling several balls at once, it's a respite when one of the balls can be tucked away.

We're at the time of the year when everyone is ready for the school year to end. Everyone has just enough energy to make it through the next few weeks, and then there will be a final push at the end. Even now, the six year old has to prepare for those end of the year field trips and teachers' gifts. And as much as we want to the school year to be over, summer plans are being made.

My youngest and I have already gotten into the yard and planted seeds, wildflower seeds native to our state, and we can't wait to see them come up. It's been a long winter, even for New Orleans, and a little bit of color in the yard is just what we need.

Is it Summer Yet?

We're all hitting the wall. In three to six weeks, every student in my household will be out of school and enjoying the summer. But until then, we're holding on by our fingernails, trying to get through the last tests, finals and fieldtrips. Right now the end of the semester work seems overwhelming at times and there are days when we just want to stay in bed and knock it out in one day, but that's not an option unless we're deathly ill. Then, of course, how much work would we get done?

I have a month between the end of the Spring semester and the beginning of the Summer semester. I've got a lot of living to do in that time. I get to spend extra time with my kids, there are about a million projects I'd like to get to. In meantime, I've got to get back to work. See you after finals.

Light at the end of the current tunnel.....

It was one of those weeks again. Our new dishwasher broke, a couple of the kids are sick, I had an all day conference and had to coordinate solutions to all these problems in between sessions. I felt like one of those workaholic moms who have a cellphone superglued to their ear! But I handled it. The dishwasher got fixed (it was still under warranty), my 17 year old still has a slight fever, but she's resting comfortably, and I did actually get something out of this conference. Kudos to my Mom, who came over to babysit the house and her granddaughter since I had to be away.

I still have a hard time dealing with delegating to others jobs which were once my exclusive domain. The next two and a half years are going to be tough with school, work and family, and if I don't learn to delegate, I'll go nuts. I have to make an extra effort to spend as much time as possible with my youngest, but luckily, she's the kind of kid who can roll with the punches and doesn't mind the occasional play date or alternate pick up because I have to study.

I'm only taking one course this summer because I have to take two trips. I could also use the extra time to catch up on some of my primary schoolwork in counseling. I want to be better prepared for the new semester.