The Non-Negotiables

These are the things that I consider non-negotiable for today:

• attend both of my scheduled classes
• finish writing (or get to the point where only polish is needed) my last term paper.  I need about 1500 more words, but that shouldn't be too hard to accomplish (I'm hoping anyway!)
• attend a ninety minute yoga class

Everything else today is gravy.

That said, I just spent an hour where I could have been working on my paper playing a game online instead.  My brain wasn't quite awake yet, and diving into the territory of the phenomenon of witch-hunting that followed the Protestant Reformation just wasn't something I was up to.  So, it'll get done this afternoon and evening.

I'm also going "home" to grandma's tonight.  First night in my own bed since last Thursday.  Of the seven nights that will make up this week, I'm only spending two of them in my bed.  Usually I spend four.  It's been that kind of week, and I've been grateful for a soft place to land at mom and dad's.  This morning, for example, it bought me almost an extra hour of sleep, since I only needed to take one bus to get to school instead of two.  An extra hour is a big deal on a night when the lights aren't switched off until well past midnight.

It's the kind of week where everything feels like slogging, sometimes marginally easier than others, but almost always slogging.  So.  The goal is to get the non-negotiables done, and all the rest is gravy.  (Which, by the way, despite the fact that I almost never like sauces, I happen to love.  Go figure.)

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 239

Today ended up being a far more emotional and harder day than anticipated.  One of those days where when down time finally comes, it seems that all of the thoughts and emotions you've been successfully juggling come crashing to earth at once.

That said, here is today's Daily 5:

1. sleeping in a bit this morning (even through hard dreams, the extra few hours of sleep were an immense blessing)
2. parents who have generously allowed me a couple of extra nights at their house, giving me an evening last night that encompassed a bath, and peaceful space tonight to work on my final term paper of the semester
3. that tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it yet (to quote Anne Shirley)
4. the comforting warmth of blankets and magic bags
5. working on a term paper for a couple of hours with the food network on in the background

Tuesday Morning, Resting

This is the first day in several weeks where I haven't had to crawl out of bed early, rushing off to work, or school, or some other commitment that was stealing my time, and I am savoring it, still nested under blankets, though it's now closer to afternoon than morning.

I fought for a few extra hours of sleep this morning, pushing through the dreams that lately have been haunting the last hours before I wake.  Each time they roused me, I rolled over, turned on a new piece of music, or a sermon, and let the notes or voices carry me back into sleep.

I stayed at mom and dad's last night, since I was out late with them, watching my brother play hockey, and it didn't make sense to go home for a few hours, only to crawl out of bed early and return to their house.  It was nice to have an extra night here, without the stresses of the crazy living situation at grandma's house.  Without the way her house seems to intensify the dreams.

I've been awake for a few hours now, laying here, quietly reading a novel that I picked up at the library last night.

I'm fighting a cold that began to make itself known yesterday with full sinuses and an aching throat, and this quiet morning is much needed, since it will be a rarity in this month of juggling responsibilities and commitments.

In a few minutes, I'm getting up.  A shower, some food, a bit of yoga, then settling in to tackle the next term paper on my agenda.  The last term paper.  The one that needs to be basically accomplished before I go to bed tomorrow night, since it is due on Friday, and my usual Thursday day off for writing will be mostly filled with a shift at work, and then teaching at house church.  So, I will write, today, tonight, and tomorrow night, and polish a little after work on Thursday, before printing and submitting on Friday.  And then, then the papers will be done and it will be time to study for the final exams that begin on Monday.

And so, my day begins with rest and then picks up speed.  Here I go.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 238

Today's Daily 5:

1. sunrise on snowy mountains in the distance
2. eating my favorite vietnamese noodles while sitting in a hallway at the university and watching The Amazing Race
3. taking a minute to thank a prof for a class I really enjoyed
4. having a seat to myself and being able to doze on the bus, when I just couldn't stay fully awake
5. swedish meatballs with lingonberry and gravy for supper at Ikea ($2.99!)
6. a hot bath
7. reading a new novel
8. laughing with friends at the first hockey game I've attended in probably 16 years (my brother J was playing in a championship game, and scored the winning goal!)
9. an extra night staying at mom and dad's this week
10. curling up in bed with warm magic bags on my feet and back

Busy

I'm having the kind of day where my thoughts are running a thousand directions at once.

I'm pondering some teaching on Islam that I've received over the last several Sunday evenings, and the ways that that teaching is completely contradictory to other things that I've heard and read.

I'm thinking about an appointment I had on the weekend, and balancing relationships and health and boundaries and all that good stuff.

I'm sitting in a classroom, waiting for the last of a series of Monday morning tutorials to begin.  A series of tutorials that I will absolutely NOT miss an hour from now when they've concluded.  The sort of tutorials where the Teaching Assistant one spent 20 minutes working to impart the point that "pop culture tries to influence us."  Not exactly a stunning revelation.

It's the last week of classes.  I have one more term paper to write.  And then five final exams.  Throw in a part-time job, various and sundry health appointments, a few yoga classes, a teaching commitment at house church, my brother's graduation from Bible school, a friend's wedding, Easter, and I can't even remember what else, and it definitely promises to be a busy next three weeks.

That, of course, means that I have no idea what blogging will look like during that time, other than, of course, the Daily 5. 

Wish me luck!  A lot rides on these exams...