Summer Vacation, of a Sort, Begins

This week will be very different from the past few weeks.  Our school has Friday off as the 4th of July holiday, and a few weeks ago, I decided to take my motorcycle training class on Tuesday and Wednesday, since there's a discount, and I didn't want to spend a week-end doing that and then trying to be functional at work.  And then, I thought, well, why not take the whole week off?

People assume I'm going somewhere, but I'm happy to be staying at home.  I've got unfinished  projects the way one does when one has hectic weeks:  I need to do some cleaning, some laundry, some banking, some cooking.  I've got online classes starting and shifting into high gear.  I've got a writing project due date.  There are non-school friends I want to catch up with.

I feel that strange tingle of nervousness--we're halfway through the year, and I've taken half of my Paid Time Off--what if I get sick?

But I also don't want to get to December and need to take the whole month off so that I don't lose my PTO.  So, it's good to take days here and there.

Plus, I've been feeling so exhausted, between school issues and Vacation Bible School--I've had lots of signals that it's time to take a few days off to regroup.

I'm hoping also to have time to read.  I've finished Kate Atkinson's A God in Ruins, and I can't stop thinking about the characters--it's almost enough to make me want to go back to reread Life after Life.  But there are so many books I haven't read yet.  Next up:  The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer.  It's hard to believe how many years it's been since I read her first novel, The Dive from Clausen's Pier.

Now it's time to make some homemade granola bars (recipe in this blog post).  I have trouble envisioning how motorcycle riding classes will go.  Will I need dry clothes to change into?  Will we have snacks provided?  I'm fairly sure lunch is not provided.  Will I need to bring all my own water?  Will there be an air conditioned place to leave my lunch/snacks or will I use my car for storage?

Regardless of the answers, my homemade granola bars will be just fine.  And so will I.