Spring Broken

Devin used this title in her blog, and I have to agree with her kids; I'm having a spring broken instead of a spring break. Unlike the J's, however, I did get to escape to Charlotte for a weekend. And, unlike Devin, I don't have any cute pictures of weed-pullers to post. A picture of me grading papers is not cute. But since my return home, I'm definitely dealing with a broken spring.

Monday, when I returned, I had the bug-guy scheduled for 2pm. It's a good thing. When I walked upstairs around 1:30, I was greeted by the corpses of lady bugs--everywhere. Dave had emptied the flourescent light fixture in the kitchen every day last week and had to vacuum up quite a few from the attic when he retrieved our luggage, but I didn't expect this carnage. I started to clean it up before the guy got here because I didn't want him to think that I'm a sub-par house keeper (truth aside). I decided, however, that I should leave it so he could see what we're dealing with. He was impressed by the number of dead lady bugs, too. So, he dusted the attic to kill them. We've decided they were hibernating in there this winter and since it has warmed up are looking for a way out. I still can't figure out why they were dead when I found them.

Tuesday, I decided to attack the remaining research papers that I had to read. I thought there were less than ten still to read; turns out there were around twenty unread papers. I spent much of the day reading them. Around 3pm, a storm started moving in. I decided I should allow extra time to get to my class on the south side of Dallas, so I left at 3:45 in torrential rains. I could barely see in some places but crept along to class for I am a conscientious student. At hour one into the drive, I seriously began to consider turning back, but the traffic on the other side of the highway was just as bad. And, I'd already used an hour to drive this far. The traffic and weather forecast was dismal; hail was falling ahead where I would be driving. But, I persisted. I arrived one hour and fifty minutes later, safe and sound, and late for class. But the professor was understanding, and two other students arrived after me.

That bring us to today. So far, I've finished reading those pesky research papers and now have only the task of putting a grade on them ahead of me. The a/c guys have been out to replace a motor on our upstairs unit so that we won't suffer the heat the way Devin and family did last summer when one of their units went out. And, I have three hours until I have to go to the dentist for part one of a crown.

I keep telling myself I should not be complaining about my Spring Break. Yes, it would be much more fun to be getting a mani-pedi and a massage. It would be great fun to be shopping with all the money I'm paying for a crown and a a/c motor. It would be awesome not to have graduate projects hanging over my shoulder. But, I am thankful that I don't have to go to work this week and try to accomplish all the items on my to-do list. And, the a/c guy gave me another great thought, I'm getting paid to be at home. (Well, actually, I could totally argue that point. I only get paid for 180 days and it's divided over 12 months. . . but I'm trying to focus on the positive, right?)