Vacation Mode

I made it to vacation, but it wasn’t pretty. Rather, it felt more like crawling across the finish line gasping for breath. At least it did on the inside. Still, to finish is to win. It’s not figure skating. I don’t have to look good doing it.

Friday actually passed on a high note. I had serious concerns about the readiness of my students for the exam they were supposed to take so I left it open for them to put it off if they felt they weren’t prepared, but many of them decided to take it on schedule, and they did very well. I’m sure it looked curious to people to see them on the phone all around the school talking in Spanish! The rest of them were told that they could call me over vacation if they wanted to get it out of the way (It was a true SNL moment when they all flipped out their cells to punch in the number). To have so many of them step up and take the plunge was a testament to how confident they felt about what they knew, and it made me happy to see that, especially after spending most of the week worrying about how I’m going to get my “students on the fringe” across the line.

As I move into “vacation mode” I have several irons in the proverbial fire. The yard work is weighing on me, so I’m going to start on that first (weather permitting). I have also thrown the gauntlet at the mudroom, for it is flaunting its disorganization at me and I will tolerate it no longer. The basement, while not boastful in its disarray like the mudroom, must be attended to so I can begin the several home repairs that must be completed this year. My woodshop is in the basement, and currently buried under layers of detritus that could easily be used to correctly date periods of history. There is grading that must be dealt with so I can focus on the 70 or so 6-page papers that will be coming as soon as classes start again. The list is longer, but if these are not on it by week’s end, I will consider that I have done well with my time.

“Vacation mode” is not all about work, of course. I’m going to a softball practice tomorrow to see about playing on a co-ed team. I happened across the notice that this team was looking for a player and, after talking with the guy who organized it, I thought it would be a fun way to fulfill my competitive spirit (the team flavor of it, anyway) now that soccer is off the radar. My bike is down from the attic, as well. It needs some love to get it ready for the road, but I’m looking forward to finally putting some miles under my fat ass in the out-of-doors. Disc golf is looking good, when I drop the girls off at the matriarch’s at the mid-week. In the evenings, I’m looking forward to reading The Unredeemed Captive (Demos, 1995) and to continuing the roleplaying story our house has been building for the last 5 years.

I’ve decided I am not going to use this vacation to work on Community School stuff. While I recognize that it is important to keep it moving forward (and that it is not doing so at the moment), I have recognized that I just cannot focus on it well right now. It requires so much of my concentration, and my brain is tired. Part of the reason I have planned what I do for the next week is to give it some time to relax and get some of its power back.