Countdown to Christmas

 

Well, classes are finally over (woo hoo!) and now there's just piles and piles and piles of grading that need to get worked through before final grades are due on Jan. 2. The original due date for grades was Dec. 28 but someone (or someones) must have complained because the day was set back, thankfully, until after the end of the year.

Unlike previous years, when I've found myself grading on Christmas Eve, feeling rather Grinch-like, I plan not to have a grading marathon over the holidays. Instead, I'm aiming to get a lot of that done this coming week, which is finals week. I still have to go in to school to give one exam and to hold "special office hours," which I offer so my students can touch base with me and thereby reduce their panic levels. But with the later due date for grades I will enjoy being able to work solely on my book manuscript for the week of Christmas before it's due to the editor on the 31st. That's a huge relief. I've been able to sneak work on it here and there for the past week, which always feels good since I can see the project becoming crisper and more polished, but I won't be able to devote any full-time hours to it until schoolwork is finito.

Having no more classes means I also get to spend more time at home, which is something Chiquita, whom I should have named Sombrita because she's like a tiny shadow following me around all the time, loves. And home is just where I want to be these days. Now that we're back "home for the holidays" in our new old house (as the pretty home-made card my husband designed for us this year announces in either English and Spanish, depending on the recipient), I've become even more of a homebody than ever.

Just as my husband had predicted, the commute to and from my small college on the hill has been quite tiring (it was about an hour in the mornings, when I had to leave before dawn, and more like an hour and a half in the evenings). More so when I couldn't start for home before dusk, which was basically the norm given that there was usually someone or something to attend to (a student, a colleague, a meeting) after my last class ended at 4 p.m. But I'm willing to put up with the commute for the joy that I feel at being back in our neighborhood.

Also, thanks to the long commute I've become a much more informed person because I can listen to NPR for a few hours each day, which I have loved. And I've been able to listen to several good audiobooks of books I'd never have time to actually read, which is a plus once the NPR signal dies out in the boonies where my small college on the hill is located (I plan to take up the audiobook of War and Peace once I begin commuting again in the new year).

Once the semester closes officially on Dec. 21, I am eager to commute less and spend most of my time here, with my beloved husband and furry children. We have a nice tradition for Christmas Eve and early dinner reservations at a favorite restaurant for the 31st so this is definitely going to be a homey end of the year, God willing. In between, I will take some time over the holidays to see my family when I travel to my brother's home. I haven't seen him since 2010, when our father died, so this will be quite special.

And then, once January arrives, I'm very much anticipating the two weeks of peace and quiet and of no more major projects to conclude or embark on. Thankfully, in spring I'm teaching two classes I've taught before so there won't be a lot of prep and maybe, just maybe, the spring semester will feel like I've finally mastered the art of balancing life and work. That's a good thing to look forward to in 2013.