Taking Care of Business

Posted February 28, 2015 by Alison Mitchell

So, the first half of this semester was a little unusual.  I’m just thankful I didn’t take any Monday classes, because between snow days and holidays, they have only met once.  How crazy is that?

By the end of last semester I figured out that things worked best for me if I had big blocks of time for each part of my life.  A day here for work, a day there for homework.  From 3:15 – bedtime, all my focus was on the kids.  Weekends were family time, unless there was a big assignment on the horizon, in which case I carved a few hours out of precious family time so I wasn’t freaking out.  

It was a little hard to keep to that schedule at the beginning of this semester, as I got used to the slightly different rhythm of an online class.  Still, I was keeping a positive attitude and trying to figure out the best way to get things done. I mapped out the dates for all the group projects in each of my classes, and felt like I could handle my second semester at SLIS.

Then, it snowed.

And snowed.

And snowed.

My kids had snow day upon snow day.  I kept thinking I could “get things done” on the snow days, but that was crazy thinking.  I felt like I wasn’t doing enough schoolwork.  The library where I work only closed one day per storm, while my kids had two days off each storm, so my kids came to work with me a few times (which sounds nice, but is actually kind of hard, even in a Children’s Department). 

Then there was February Vacation, a completely misnamed week of no school (having your kids home for a full week in February is not a vacation.  Let’s call it something else). 

Anyway.  All that passed, and we haven’t had a snowstorm in a couple of weeks — just a dusting every few days.

Now, with February Vacation behind us, a really good connection with my 404 group, and a fairly good idea of how to manage 488 online, I’m ready to tackle the second half of the semester.   Wish me luck.  And to other parents out there, balancing school and work and kids and shoveling and ice dams and dead car batteries (please let that not just be me), hang in there.  Spring will come.  It always does.