Happy New Year in August!

I LOVE back to school time. Not because I've been home with the kids all summer or because I am bored but because this time of year signals a new beginning- a fresh clean start. This is the time of year I get to start over and perhaps do things better or differently than I did last. For as long as I can remember, the beginning of school marks the new year for me-- not Jan. 1.

Some of the things I hope to do better this year include:

• Be home at a decent hour to help the kids with HW and so that we can all eat dinner together
• Keep up with grading. I always read and respond to students' work as soon as it is turned in (because I am curious about what they think or have been doing) but I HATE placing a grade on it so then I find myself with all these papers waiting for their marks. Maybe I should just start giving feedback and letting students assign the grade...hmm (Now, I am wondering if any of my students are reading this and thinking that I am really crazier than they originally thought!)
• End with as much steam as I begin with
• Maintain a routine for sleeping, eating and exercising and a schedule in general
• I want to submit (and hopefully have accepted) at least 2 articles that I am first author on. I am not sure if that is a lofty goal or not. It doesn't sound like much but this will be difficult for me. I am so slow at writing for academic purposes. I think the more I do it, the easier it may become. 
• Hanging out with the BFF. All of her kids will be in school so we ought to be able to get together at least 1 morning a week! 
• Seeing my nephews. I love them and love being around them but it seems like time is always an issue. 
• Pay my bills. When I get behind on this, it drives the husband insane, which I find sort of funny (but don't tell him I said that, OK?)! A stack of mail will pile up on the kitchen counter and then one day one of the kids will arrive home to find that the "lights don't work". Yeah, the youngest called his Daddy at work last year to report this. Of course the husband called Duke Power raising hell only to be told that the bill had not been paid. Oooopssss...This series of events was not as funny to the husband as it was to me. The money was in the bank, I just hadn't taken time to pay it along with all the other bills. Oh yeah, the youngest also posted this mishap on Facebook, which I found to be quite funny too, but the husband was less than amused. 
• Gauging what can be accomplished in a 3-hour class! UGH-- now that drives me crazy. I always run out of time and end up having to carry things over into the next class meeting. I am certain that when I taught elementary school, my timing was right on target. I swear, I never have enough class time to do all the things I want to do with students. In a lot of ways, I wish I had them everyday for an hour or so instead of 3 hour chunks. 

I wonder if accomplishing all of these things is even realistic. I've never been known to function around what is realistic but I am going to put a good honest effort towards realizing these goals! So here's to a new year-

Cheers!

M