I can’t quite decide if I’m in mourning or in denial right now. Don’t panic. Nobody’s died or anything that serious. No, I’m just being a little melodramatic about the end of summer and the beginning of fall classes.
Yesterday marked the official end of vacation with our University Convocation. This is always a slightly bittersweet event. It is wonderful to see everyone again and catch up on what is happening in their lives, but it is also sad because classes are starting soon.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my day job. I can’t imagine not teaching. I just feel like I need more of a break this year. For regular readers of my blog, y’all know that I taught a marathon second session class that finished just two weeks ago. It was a great class but is one of my colleagues noted, “you feel like a wrung out dish rag when it’s done.” That is an apt description. Another would be how you feel after a long race. You are hot, sweaty, and utterly exhausted, but there is a tremendous sense of accomplishment. That was how I felt that the end of my second session class.
It did take my dishrag-self down to Florida last week and relaxed on Daytona Beach. It was exactly what I needed, just more of it. Every morning I got up early, took my coffee, and walked a couple of miles on the beach. I would come back, grab my chair, umbrella, and Kindle and hit the beach. Slathered in sunscreen, I read and people watched. It was heaven. At night, I sat in my balcony that overlooked the water and drank wine.
I came back thinking I was refreshed and reinvigorated. At least until the alarm went off yesterday morning at o dark 30. I swear that I heard a collective groan of every faculty member as they hit snooze for five more minutes of denial. That first day back is always the hardest and this morning was a tad bit easier. I smiled when I drove onto campus and saw the hive of activity is everyone gears up for the first day of classes next Monday.
Now it is time to tackle the mountain of syllabi and lecture prep that mark the week before classes start. I have the semester mapped out, the planner filled in, and I’m mentally ready to go. No more mourning. No more denial. Is time to hit the ground running and tackle fall semester.
Is your summer winding down? Are you getting ready to send your kids for yourself back to school? Let me know in the comments below how you deal with the end of summer.