Prep

My materials are ready for my class tonight. Yes, I had one last night, and two "first nights" in a row is rough, not because of the preparation involved, but because even after all the time I've been teaching, every "first time" is like the absolute first time. Imagine if, in your job, you had a new start day every seven, eight, twelve, or sixteen weeks. That's what it's like. I'm not complaining; it's both the best and worst part of my job. I love starting fresh with a new batch of students every session. But with everything that's going on right now -- having family here, leaving tomorrow for vacation, trying to square away my damage repairs -- it's a lot. Even when I was a full-time faculty member, most summers I didn't teach more than one class, and here I am going into my third summer class. Financially it's great, and the enrollment coordinator on base has already given me four classes for next spring because, as he put it, he did want another campus to snatch me away. (That's what happened for fall.)

I've mostly given up on accomplishing anything with my household repairs until after vacation when my son and granddaughters go back home. It isn't that I don't want it done -- and soon -- but I don't need to be spending time on that when I could be spending it with family. Instead, we're all getting packed and ready for our trip tomorrow. I will have to take some work with me, but I'll have five days to relax (for the most part). Five days of living on the beach! My only goal is to learn to make the perfect mojito. (That might be harder than it sounds; I have no idea what goes in one, only that I like it.) I'm writing now because after tonight's class I will be double-checking my list and making a "car-packing queue". It's too hot here, even overnight, to pack the car in advance, so what I like to do is have everything ready at the door. I'm dropping the dogs off for "summer camp" early in the morning, and after that we'll get our stuff in the car and take off, hopefully arriving in Sanibel just in time for check-in. This time tomorrow, I'll be lying on a lounge chair, staring at the beautiful sky and the Gulf. Probably without a mojito. The mojitos will likely happen on Friday.