Countdown to Break

JillWellington via Pixabay

This is my last week of classes before our winter vacation next week. I enjoy teaching but, c'mon -- who doesn't like a break?

Here are 6 reasons why I love my breaks.

No alarm clocks. I am not a morning person, and being able to get up without an alarm is perhaps my favorite part of break.
Blogging in the morning. I started this blog post before 9AM and it has taken me nearly twelve hours to get back to it. I love that I can get up and blog right away and get my posts out during "normal business hours."
Writing time. I have two novels ready for revision and the next step, which will be different for each of them, is just waiting for me to have time to take it. Full days to myself with no course responsibilities will, I hope, allow me to make progress on at least one of them.
Reading time. As I type this, I have met my goal of reading daily every day this month. That may sound like a small thing but, for me, it's actually a big accomplishment. A week off at the beginning of March means I can kick-start my reading goal in a brand new month, guilt-free.
Time to put things in order. Thanks to time spent organizing by style, my house is in better shape than it used to be, but there are always piles, projects, and, of course, daily tasks that require time and attention. Break gives me an opportunity to dig into those, at my leisure.
Less fretting over what I should be doing. Clearly, I have a list but the beauty of break is that I can break it into small pieces and tackle it as I wish. There will be appointments and papers to grade but unscheduled time means I can spend more time content with what I am doing in the moment and less time shoulding myself.

Now, only one thing remains -- to make sure the week stays balanced. I've kept the early part of the week free of appointments in order to balance out the ones that landed at the end of the week (including a Facebook Live on the CatholicMom.com Facebook page on Thursday, if you'd care to join me). I'm also endeavoring to keep even fun appointments (lunch and coffee dates, for example) off the books so I can maximize the gift of time vacations bring. Then, at the end of the week, my daughter comes home for her break.

And the countdown begins.