...and it's Sunday. The "sprint" is upon us: I hope they learned something about lit and life...and maybe people...

The last day of "vacation," actually just a regular Sunday, except no papers to grade. I've done all the spring cleaning I planned to do, got a good start on the outdoor chores, and in general, have managed to wade through the week. Except for three nights of stressful/busy dreams, I've gotten a bit of rest that I sorely needed. We even had a small adventure to Ben and Jerry's. All told, a pretty good week. Now we enter a stretch of mild chaos at school: AP testing, field trips, and other general interruptions, punctuated by periods of actual class time. I don't mean to fuss, really I don't, but I feel the pressure of getting things accomplished without having to rearrange the plans over and over and over again. I do my plan book in pencil. 

Graduation is June 9th, so we have precious little time to get through the 20th century in American Lit. I try not to lose focus: they will still live productive lives if we don't make it past 1960, but still...but still. In British Lit, I know we won't get past 1900, or if we do, it's just barely. But again, they will live quite peacefully without doing "it all." It's enough, I think, that in both classes we've had a fun time looking at how people and literature and history intersect, and that the date may change, but people do not. What human beings love, what they fight for and against, the grand and the petty, are all the same, in the final analysis. I want them to see that; I want them to connect with the hopes and dreams of our common cultural ancestors, not to revere them and their work, but to see how they fit into the whole big schema. 

So, I'll enjoy today with Holly, maybe bake something, and take the day as it comes. It's rainy and warm, a good "soft day," and the flowers are popping! Tomorrow will take care of itself, I suspect, and all the tomorrows thereafter. It's a sprint, yes, but if I keep myself from getting tizzy-fied, it'll all figure itself out. 

Have a good day, my friends. Soak it in.

C