Reflections

I know that last week I said it was the last week, but this is REALLY the last week. :) Week nine always feels like the last week of class, because week ten doesn't have classtime, but week ten is really truly the end. I have to admit I struggled through this term. It's been a time of family drama and health issues, and I'm afraid I got somewhat distracted from my classwork. I don't like the feeling of not being completely prepared at each seminar, and feeling that I'm running late on my discussion boards. My hope is that next term will be calmer, and I will be able to budget my time more effectively. I have learned a lot, there's no doubt about that, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did in earlier terms.

I have enjoyed having this blog, though. I've always been one to write out my feelings more than talk about them, and this is almost as good as a private journal, because nobody is really reading it. LOL

It has been a good learning tool, though. Just making the time to write something each week and making sure that I am using complete sentences and explaining things in a way that others could understand is more useful than scribbling to myself in a journal, because I don't always take time to write very well in that circumstance.

I will probably continue to do this as time goes on. I really don't care anything about having many people involved, the few friends that know about this will be enough; just having the satisfaction of writing and maintaining some sort of school journal will be good for me.

Goodbye for now, and see you again soon.

the final week

I can't believe the term is almost over. The longer I am in school, the faster each term seems to go by. I am ready for the Christmas break, though. I started school in February, and I have thoroughly enjoyed each of the classes I have taken, and have adapted happily to being a student again. I was apprehensive when I first signed up for classes because it has been a while since I was in school. I was not completely confident that I could make the transition into being a student again, but it wasn't really that difficult. After four straight terms though, I am ready for a break. I am beginning to feel a little like I need to step off the carousel for a few days. :)

I am sure though, that by January 6 I'll be bored out of my mind and ready to get busy again. I've adapted so well to being a student that now I worry about what I will do with my time when I'm finished with school. When I started this, I still had two kids at home. They have graduated high school, moved out, and started college while I've been at Kaplan. When I finish school, I'm going to have way more time on my hands than I have ever had before.

I'm equal parts looking forward to finishing school and worried about finishing, because then I just have to find a new job and put all this knowledge that I have gained to some constructive use.

It will just be one more opportunity to start something new and make life what I want it to be. Right?

Walking in a winter wonderland

Okay, I'm not walking in a winter wonderland, I'm sitting in an office chair, but I'm listening to the song. My Christmas spirit arrived today from wherever it has been hiding. I'm not sure why it showed up today, but here it is. So I decorated the house and I'm listening to Christmas music. That's the true test of my Christmas spirit.
This time of year always makes me realize how grown my children are. I have so many memories of Christmas with the kids around the tree ripping paper and jumping up to hug me when I got the 'right' gift. I have pictures of smiling faces and videos of laughing kids and memories piled up like pictures overflowing a box: turkey and ham dinners and hot cocoa and cinnamon rolls and playing with new toys. I remember Christmases when the kids tried to sneak and open their presents early, and the Christmas that I put numbers on the tags instead of names so they wouldn't know which presents were whose.

They are all grown now, and Christmas is a different kind of joy. I get much less satisfaction from the gifts, and much more satisfaction from the meals and the playing games and telling stories. I am blessed that I've had a wonderful life with my kids. My oldest turned 26 this year, and the youngest are 18 (no, that isn't bad grammar. My youngest children are twins, so there are two of them that are 18) and none of them live home anymore. They will all be here for Christmas, and we'll eat and tell stories and look at pictures and play silly games, and it will be a wonderful day. I wouldn't want to go back in time to when they were all young, but I'm sure glad I have the memories.

God bless you all this Christmas...I wish for you all the joy that I feel at this moment.