Whew! Ugh.

I'm tired.  Since school got out less than a month ago, I have been to Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point State Park, participated in a three day workshop on the new Utah Core curriculum, led a trip to Yellowstone, completed a three-credit hour class on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, and taken a trip to Boston where I toured Plymouth, Lowell, Lexington, Concord, the U.S.S. Constitution, the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston's graveyards, and went to two Red Sox games in Fenway Park.  Now I'm sitting in the third day of my last class this summer, Creativity in the Classroom.  In between I've tried to squeeze in climbing, other exercise, family, friends, cooking, and cleaning.  Oh, and sleep.  That usually ends up being last.  Cooking, cleaning, and sleep.  This morning I looked at the dishes in the sink and realized they'd been there for four days.  I skipped a shower and washed half of them.  Maybe tonight I'll tackle the other half and the ones on the stove.  

But here comes the next stage of summer: adventure.  If I do everything possible so far, not counting last minute climbing trips that will probably get suggested by friends (I've already turned down three this month), I will assist in the pilgrim reenactment for Freedom Days, go camping in Glacier National Park, summit the Grand Teton, and go backpacking with my family.  That's just July, but my meetings for school start on the 9th of August, so there's not much summer left after July.  If I do all of that, I will have a grand total of 2 1/2 weeks of un-scheduled time, assuming I do nothing but those planned trips.

Here's the catch, I'd love to do all of them, but here are some things I have to get done this summer somehow:  Move and rearrange/redocorate my classroom, complete another 3 credit hour history course, adapt my English curriculum to the new Utah Core, read about 20 books I'm supposed to teach my gifted students next year, and figure out what the heck I'm teaching my gifted kids next year.  In there somewhere it'd be nice to get 8 hours of sleep (hasn't happened in weeks), do the dishes before they mold, and maybe hang out with some the friends I put off all school year because I was too busy.  And make healthy, good food.  Or try a new recipe for the first time in a year.  That's an impossible order for 2 1/2 weeks.  If I try to fit in all of those trips plus all those necessary plus a 10th of the things I'd like to do, I'm going to hit the school year exhausted, which is a bad way to start a school year where I will be teaching three subjects, one of them new, and once again taking evening classes.

But what do I take out?  This may be the only time I have an opportunity to hike the Grand, though it will require a lot of training I don't have time to do.  How can I not do that?  I already turned down the Freedom Festival opportunity this morning, despite the fact it would give me credit toward my history endorsement.  The family backpacking trip is also a must that cannot be skipped.  Not going to Glacier National Park would free up six more days, nearly a full week.  It's my longest time commitment for the rest of the summer, the easiest one to drop.  An extra week I could sleep and train and work on school stuff and do my dishes and work on school stuff.  But man, would I disappoint my parents and sister who have been looking forward to and planning this trip for a month.  I've only gotten to see my sister and my dad once since summer started, and my mother not at all.

Sigh.  I'm tired.  Yesterday morning I was so tired I lost my breakfast, so I skipped my training after class and went home and slept for three hours.  I didn't get up early this morning and exercise, I slept.  I've got a sore throat, and I'm feeling whiny (can you tell?).