January 30

It wasn’t a stellar day. It’s that point in the school year when I feel like everything I do is futile and has zero impact. And because I was “smart” over the weekend and allowed myself to rest and get well (and I am a thousand percent better than I was on Friday), I have a backlog of papers to grade. 

I’m feeling horribly overwhelmed. 

But it was 68 degrees when I left school today, so when I got home, I dropped some ice in a glass and cracked open a diet Coke, grabbed my copy of “The Awakening,” and sat on my deck and read for 45 minutes. 

The description of the sea, the beach, the heat, carried me away from my current troubles. It didn’t necessarily make me feel better, but basking in the sunshine on my deck, in a short-sleeve shirt, jeans, and flip-flops did remind me that in four months, summer will be here.

I won’t feel like this forever. And that’s what will get me through tonight’s workload.