Spring Break and My Future

I did not intend to blog this morning. I haven't been to my school in a over a week, and my desk is a mess and my classroom could use some work. But, I experimented with my bus route this morning, and I have arrived at school half an hour earlier than expected. As I prepare to begin the Monday morning of the "downhill slope to summer" it seems like a good time for reflection on Spring Break, its adventures, and the remaining weeks of school.

Although I have been in school for the past few years, my illustrious university has not been one that granted it students a spring break. I didn't really begrudge the university its decision, since it meant that school got out before the end of April. But this year, as a proud worker in the public school system, I stepped forward excitedly to claim my spring break. Since school doesn't get out until the last week of May, a break in the spring makes a big difference. As Spring Break approached, I made plans, revised them, made lists of things I wanted to do, and generally intended make the most of my long-awaited break.

And, I have to say, I think I did. After school I came home and had no idea what to do with myself. I ended up cleaning and rearranging and reorganizing my entire room. Then I went to bed at about 10 pm. The next morning I was wide awake at 6:30. But, as the day wore on, I began to get more into the spirit of things. I read my book, went grocery shopping, and spent three hours making homemade pies. Reflecting on the week, here are some of the highlights of how I spent my break:

Easter dinner with family and friends
rock climbing
going to movies
going to the temple
reading books
playing computer games
hanging out friends, new and old, near and far
going shopping
cuddling with cute cats
playing with a puppy
playing with my nieces and nephew
talking to my sisters for hours
a relaxing afternoon with my mom and sisters
researching all the possible locations I could request to live in Japan

Now there are only six weeks left of school. Twenty-nine school days. Only twenty-seven for me, because I will be taking Thursday and Friday off to graduate. Six of those days will be taken up entirely by state testing, and four more will be the last week of school, a time when no one actually teaches anything. That leaves me with only seventeen days, just over three weeks. Because our district works on A/B days, that's really only eight more lessons to prepare. Eight more lessons? I just ran out of my room to go share that discovery with one of the other English teachers. Now I'm making myself restless. I know there are a full six weeks left, but thinking that there are only eight new lessons to prepare until the end makes it seem like tomorrow. I can't decide whether these next six weeks/eight days will drag, or fly. But either way, spring is here, and summer just around the corner.