Spring has sprung!

That's the phrase my husband has been repeating almost every day since our return home on Thursday. And today it was evident in the purple and yellow crocuses that have sprouted merrily around our little pond and in the 67-degree weather that allowed us to open a few windows and spend time both on the deck and on the porch, reading and enjoying the warmth and the promises of spring. We even turned on our long-stilled water fountain for a while!

This Sunday has been a blessed one of rest and homeyness, when I decided not to go to the gym or to the office but to stay still, at home, and to actually take it easy, for a change. While I did class-related reading, it was done in the most pleasant way of all, sitting leisurely outside, enjoying the chirping of the birds and the spring-bearing sun.

Tomorrow, the semester starts anew and I already have two meetings scheduled in the afternoon and students lining up to see me during my evening office hours. While I was able to grade 71 papers during break, there are still 100 pending to grade, and 42 more that come in by week's end. There are also senior exercises to comment on and two letters of recommendations to do before April rolls around.

Still, now that the weather has turned for the better and winter is but a bad memory, I can look forward to six more weeks of school and then to blissful summer when there will still be lots to do but mostly at my own pace and on my own time.