It is mid semester. A new normal has set in:
Exhaustion. I have survived a two week
cold, a trip to the ER with another seizure and have settled into a pattern of five
hours of sleep per night. Survival is the name of the game.
Somehow the children and I are finding food, since most days
I don’t think about what to cook (a relief to the nearby fire department). This
can be attributed to our proximity to nearby restaurants. When I announce they have to forage for
dinner on their own, they instinctively say “Can we get food from Mikes?” I can
justify this extra expense of takeout food by comparing the rising cost of
groceries and energy / time expended washing dishes at midnight. I am convinced there is a cost benefit
analysis somewhere that would exemplify my need for takeout.
My collie has decided that homework time is playtime. She gets toys from her basket and tosses them
on the laptop. This could also explain
the huge number of typos I find while editing.
She ignores the piles of papers and books on her place on the couch,
jumping on top regardless of my protest and commands to stay down. She has be trained so well she now recognizes
when it is time for a study break. Good
dog, now if I could just train her to write proposals.
Midnight dish washing
sessions are becoming a form of stress release.
I remember when I was working on my first degree. The house was never cleaner than when I had a
project or test. It should also be said
that I was in my late twenties at the time and had an endless bounty of
energy. I don’t have that bounty now in
my mid-fifties. Time, children, job and
endless other influences have robbed me of that bounty.
I have been working on another multiple piece project
again. The last one was seven parts. It
was awful getting the work completed. I
felt I had been railroaded by the professional who suggested I take this
class. “It will be easy” she said suggesting
I could get my feet wet with this class.
This last project made me feel like I was drowning.
My classmates have been very helpful. Half of what I have learned this semester has
been from them. They are a walking, talking
websites. My wish is that I find this
character in all the student in future classes.
I will certainly need it.
While my academic life continues forward and the children
forage, my social life aka Significant Other (SIG) seems to be adjusting. We haven’t been able to see each other as
much as we like. My distress calls are
keeping him distracted enough that he thinks he is receiving the same amount of
attention pre-class. But this is not the
truth. I have SIG guilt. Hopefully
our trip to see Paul McCartney later this month will remedy this situation. Of course the student, me, will have to work
on our trip. More guilt.
Speaking of Paul… I notified my instructor of my upcoming absence
to which she responded with questions.
Was it business? No. Was it medical? No.
Then it would be recorded as an unexcused absence. I didn’t explain that it was a concert and
tickets had been purchased months in advance.
Those details were not relevant.
I did start to consider was the option that I should lobby Paul himself
to provide me with a video excuse. Would
that get an “excused absence”? I doubt
it. It would have however make a
point. Sometimes you just have to go the
extra step to provide evidence that you don’t make up random excuses. You do the work, make the effort and do your
best given the circumstances.
Does anyone out there have a Paul McCartney connection? SIG I discussed this situation over
margaritas last night. I’m going to
pursue it in my free time, washing dishes at midnight. I think it is worth a
little bit of time and could be fun especially if my effort gets noticed.
Meanwhile I will continue to carry on. Carry on means carrying the back pack, purse,
and coffee splashing down my office clothing while I chatter away to SIG
discussing the latest stressful situation and asking for daily countdown for
our October get away.
Peace.
NEPB
