Taking some time off



Arnold Hall at SCAD--won't miss this place over the break



Today was the last day of classes for this quarter. I don’t have to go back to SCAD until the first week of January. It’s always nice to know that 15 more hours of course work are behind me and that I finished all my papers and required readings. This quarter I was required to read 5 books, stacks of my peers’ papers, selected readings from anthologies, write 3 major essays, a conference paper, a book proposal, and countless other writing assignments and presentations.  

I published two separate essays, I worked a part-time job as a freelance writer, and I just found out that I must begin my Winter internship 5 weeks earlier than I had planned. Yes, I’m excited to get a break from school.

But as much as I am excited, I am also exhausted. Sometimes I really don’t know how I get everything done. After class today, I ran to the grocery store to grab a few things for dinner tonight. As I walked up and down the aisles, I began to think back to what all has happened the past 10 weeks—aside from school stuff.

My second home...this minivan gets us everywhere on time

By some miracle Veronica recovered from her knee repair surgery that she had in early August and started walking and bending her knee well enough that my friends could pick her up and take her to Girl Scouts and church on the nights that I had class. My babysitter never called in sick or forgot to show up—yeah Jordan! The kids only got sick once/each and I never got sick—hooray!

I was able to work out my school schedule so that I was home on Tuesday and Friday afternoons to take Veronica to horseback riding therapy and physical therapy and I was able to get her to her follow up appointments in Jacksonville and still make it to class on time. I was able to watch Jude’s karate class once/week and keep up with his progress.

I only forgot to pack the kids’ snack for school once. I never forgot their lunch money or picture day. Both kids maintained straight A’s and Veronica completed two school projects. I was home for Halloween and both kids had the costumes they wanted. I got Veronica to art class in Savannah on time every Thursday and I was never late picking up my kids, their friends, and the neighbor from church every Wednesday night.

I'd like to think even June
 had to sit down at night with a glass of wine
 and feel that she was overwhelmed with life

I made dinner almost every night (even the nights I was gone I left dinner on the stove) and I gave them their baths, helped them put on their jammies, lie in bed and read to them, and tuck them in every night. They were never late for school and they always had clean clothes to wear.

I even managed to see Robby every weekend and plan ahead for the occasional sitter so we could go on real dates and have fun. We talked every night on the phone and he called me every morning on his way to work. He knows he won’t wake me because I’m usually up at 5:30 to get a jump start on my homework before the kids wake up and need me to fix their breakfast—which I did every single morning, too.

And during this time, I was training for the Savannah Rock and Roll Half Marathon that I ran this month. That meant I had to dedicate 3 mornings each week to running 8 to 10 miles and I ran 5 miles on my off days. I made it to the gym for sculpting and kick boxing classes at least 3 times each week.

Cafe Gelatohhh in City Market has the best gelato!

So, what have I decided to do with this time off? I’m going to do something for myself! Yep, that’s right. I’m going to take naps and watch R rated movies when I am at home alone. I may even go to the movies during the afternoon while the kids are at school or drive out to Tybee Island and walk barefoot on the sand. I’m going to play video games, read books and magazines, and finally organize my playlists on my iPod.

I’m going to catch up on Dexter, Weeds, and Nurse Jackie. I’m going to start watching shows that I have never had the chance to watch before. I’m going to watch all the movies in my Netflix queue and then I’m going to fill it back up and watch some more. I’m going to walk around downtown Savannah for no reason and eat gelato at City Market.

At least I'm doing better than Nancy

I’m not going to spend my time off organizing closets, raking leaves, or painting the garage like I had previously planned. I’m not going to stress out over the holidays and I’m not going to volunteer to organize the holiday parties at school this year. I’m not going to worry about Christmas cards or driving to Texas for Christmas. I’m going to do what makes me happy.

And you know what? I am happy this year. I’m very happy as a matter of fact. And I’m going to take a moment to catch my breath and enjoy my happiness because I’m so grateful to feel this way. I am so grateful that I have the energy and the know-how to do all of these things. I am so grateful that I have wonderful children and a wonderful man to share my life with. I am grateful God gave me a brain that works right and I can organize all these crazy schedules and demands on a daily basis. I am grateful that I have a chance to stop and enjoy my life—a life that truly is a life worth living.