Why I’m looking forward to school on Monday

This is what my life was like this past week:
Monday: attend three-hour IT course (the latest Performa course), followed by packing for…
Tuesday: drop kids off at babysitter’s, drive to airport, fly to Toronto, collect rental car, drive to Orillia, read at Heather’s wedding, attend reception (eat, drink, dance, etc., etc.), help Heather liberate herself from the approximately 2, 364 hairpins that were apparently the back-up system in case her head fell off, crawl into bed around 2:30 a.m.

Wednesday (a.k.a. four hours later): repack – this time trying to incorporate the giant martini glass vase I won* – get back in rental car, drive back to Toronto, drop off car, fly back to Montreal, drop Dr. T. off at work, then attend second three-hour IT course.
Thursday: present workshop for colleagues on the wonder that is Moodle.
Friday: attend all-day English Department mini-conference, which includes a workshop on marking and feedback, led by me.
Today: usual weekend routine of preparing menu & accompanying grocery list, laundry, cleaning, etc., along with getting the guest room ready for a visitor who’s arriving…
Tomorrow: when Hydro Quebec will be conducting work in our area, which forces them to cut our power between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love learning stuff, and I’m excited about another Performa course, not to mention being reunited with my classmates. Obviously I was thrilled to be asked to participate in Heather & Erich’s wedding, and Dr. T and I love weddings because we’re too old to go drinking and dancing at clubs anymore. We got the DJ to play ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ and danced our asses off. Good time. And winning the cup glass was a hoot. I was so glad to help Heather with her hair and in so doing, actually get some ‘just us’ time. The Moodle workshop and the mini-conference were both great, and I am so happy that our department is addressing the issue of marking and feedback (in past years we’ve focused on numerical alignment, rather than the written feedback we give our students). The mini-conference is always great, too, because we get to catch up with each other after a couple of months away from campus, before the teaching starts and our encounters are often 30-second chats in the hallway on the way to class.
But still. Big week.
*The martini glass: this is what happens when an English teacher gets married ~ Heather decided that the beautiful centrepieces, which consisted of giant martini glasses filled with blue glass beads and an arrangement of irises and mini-mums, would go to the person at each table who came up with the best poem. Specifically, this poem had to include the word ‘love,’ and make reference to one of the products sold at Erich’s German meat shop. I kid you not. Our winning entry: