Spring Break

Spring break! Finally! No, I am not going on some fancy cruise to the tropics or even a weekend in the mountains. I have absolutely no plans for this week and that’s what makes it so exciting for me.

I am a teacher. You know, one of those who only work from 9 to 4 and have the whole summer off… Right! And unicorns really exist. Being a teacher is an around the clock job. I may not be physically at work but I am working. Lesson plans, materials to prepare, even the simple fact of figuring out new and exciting ways to help my struggling students learn. It never stops. Then, there are the never-ending trainings, meetings, electronic paperwork, assignments to create, grade, and file in the correct binders. I will be shopping and still working. Look, the kids would really like that! Wow, this would be an awesome incentive.

I am also a writer. Writing has always been a major part of my life in one form or another. Recently writing has taken on a different tone for me. As my mortality becomes more of a reality than I would like it to be, I feel that writing is how I can leave a piece of me behind. There’s a new sense of emergency to get all those stories I have been carrying around in my head for years out on paper, like unborn children wanting to see the light of day.

Reading, much like writing, has also been always a great part of my life. Just as with writing, I now feel I have to make up for lost time. After all, there are so many good books I haven’t read yet. What if I die before I read all of them? How can I go peacefully into the afterlife knowing I left so much to do?

My plans for this week? Drink lots of coffee, read tons and write even more. I am making myself NOT work (really tough for a teacher, let me tell you) other than alphabetizing my personal library (playing with books does not count as work). Camp NaNo starts in a couple days and I am ready! My fingers are itching and my mind is racing. I am so glad it is Spring break!