The End–and a Beginning

It is the last week of school.  By now, papers are just about done, and most assignments have been turned in.  While some students are pulling all-nighters trying to cram every last bit of knowledge into brains that seem too full already, most are quietly enduring that last final while they dream of the joys of summer.  Several couples will start the new school year this coming August with new wedding rings and new responsibilities; others will move out of the dorm to their first apartment; still others will be adulting in their brand-new jobs. My colleagues and I are reclusive in our offices, finishing up grades and end-of-semester paperwork. After meetings finish next week, the Great Silence will begin as the campus will lack the voices of young adults. We will miss the new graduates and gear up for new freshmen. We say farewell to a beloved professor and look forward to greeting two new ones. This is a bittersweet time.  We’ll say good-bye, but the time for hellos is still in the future.

Usually we can’t wait for summer break.  If you work in academia as long as I have, even your body develops a rhythm that mimics a school schedule. April is the month of pressing on, waiting for the rest you know is coming.  This year, though, we have been overtaken by the White Witch of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: “It’s always winter, but never Christmas.” The trees are still bare, and the furnace is still necessary. The Brave Little Tulip in the college flower bed has not yet developed the courage to open its bud. It just doesn’t feel like summer vacation begins a week from Friday.

But whether I feel like summer or not, it is here.  And with summer, I am planning new projects. I want to get some more reading done, but in the summer, it’s mostly novels.  I’d like to clean my closet (this one has been on my to-do list as long as I can remember). I’m going to spend a week at summer camp with a friend, and another several days at a convention.  I’m going to visit the grandchildren. The Very Tired Husband and I will get away for a week, maybe two. And I think I may record another album—love songs this time. I have a list of songs in my head, but it’s not complete.  What would you like to hear on a romantic album?  Comment and let me know!