First snow!

Well, the world didn't end (again) but we did get our first major snow in these parts. The day has been so cold and windy and raw that, other than a quick drive this morning to Starbucks and to get a few staples at the grocery store, I parked the car in the garage, and stayed inside working. Lizzy didn't even get her daily morning walk so my husband threw her squeaky ball for her to chase outside for a little while. Even that didn't seem like its usual great fun for her because she was ready to quit after only a few throws.

I had planned to be up at my small college on the hill today but I'm so glad I decided not to brave the elements. I even considered staying overnight with kind friends who're always ready to put me up, but then I would've had to deal with the bad weather coming home. According to the evening newscast, the accidents on the road were so many throughout the day that the police stopped responding to anything that didn't involve an injury. Video of bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highways further persuaded me that I was right to err on the side of caution and stay home on the last day of the semester.

Although I didn't get up to school, I spent the day working on reducing the piles of grading that await attention, writing letters of recommendation (an interminable though important part of what we do), and trying to make some headway on revising my manuscript. Tonight, there'll be more work but I do plan to squeeze in some time to watch a Christmas movie, one of the many adaptations of my favorite A Christmas Carol.

Tomorrow and Sunday there will be more grading and more manuscript work to do. I don't want to spend another Christmas Eve working, as I've done many times in the past, but I am thinking that finishing with all the pending work by the 31st wouldn't be a bad idea. That way I can start a brand new year, for real, on the 1st, with absolutely nothing pending. How might that feel? I think I may just want to find out! (We'll see how much I can get done over the next few days.)

The dismal, wintry weather is great encouragement to stay home and do work, as my husband pointed out. There's another storm forecast for mid week but I hope it here while I'm visiting with my family and not on the day I'm scheduled to come back. As anyone who knows me knows, I hate traveling so I'm not good with trip delays, disruptions, or interruptions. However, I will make sure to take plenty to do  in case I have to deal with any contretemps, which hopefully won't be the case.

Even though the weather outside is dreadful, like the song says, I'm glad that the world didn't end (I still have too much to do for the End of Times to get here now) and that this long, long semester is finally, officially over. Woo hoo!