Because I work at a university, and live close by, and have friends and a sister and a roommate in some form of school, I find that I’m still measuring my time by semesters.
It’s strange, being involved and yet outside. I didn’t have the same kind of end of the semester stress that students have, but it was still there, lying under the surface. People crying at my desk. People hoofing it across campus, frantically scanning notes and mumbling before a final. That tension permeates everything. Walking to work on the last day of the semester, I felt a sense of relief, and not because Christmas was around the corner, not because it was a Friday – there was this specific sense of closure that comes at the end of the semester. I’m kind of envious of the student life, though – envious of that wonderful sense of freedom that comes when you walk out of your last final. You’ve been sleep deprived for weeks. You’ve done everything you can do. And now it’s done. When you’re working, it’s almost unheard of to get a sense of relief so strong you feel like you’re about to lift off the ground. It’s hard to ever really feel done.
I’ll be back to work soon enough, long before the semester begins for the students in my life, but this little gap before classes seems to offer a specific period of semi-vacation for me. Since things at work will be a bit quieter and less stressful, and I’ll be spending more time alone at home than normal, I have big plans for finishing lots of little things. Probably as many little things as I got done all last year…but a girl can dream. 2011 offers a sense of opportunity I haven’t felt in a while. I’m looking forward to some of the big things, but also the little things – checking things off my list and writing about it here.
I don’t miss finals. But it is kind of fun looking over my roommate’s shoulder when she finishes her education grad projects. This one was particularly fun and took advantage of our mutual love of paper. Moustaches. So underutilized in children’s lit.
I like writing, photography, reading, music, design, typography, paper products, days in the seventies and sparkly snow, Spanish wine and cans of PBR. I spent a year in Córdoba, Spain, working as a 
I was just telling a friend the other day how much I miss that end of semester feeling. Work really feels like a never ending bundle of stress and sometimes I’m tempted to go back to school (until the hubs reminds me of our current student loan situation ;).
Hope you had a great holiday!
Oh, and love the mustache book … so cute!