Teaching an old dog new tricks

Say you've been trained to do something for maybe the first 27 years of your life and then suddenly, the rules change and now you have to change your ways. This is what the school system has done to me. For 27 years, I knew that you go to school August - May. June and July are break times. It's a fantastic system. Granted, I'm still kind of on this schedule. But Stanton now has a real job. A 40 hour a week job, with a limited number of vacation days. And I'm not liking the paradigm shift. I don't think he is either.

The closest we've come to a vacation was this past weekend. We finally made it back to Arkansas. We spent the weekend at a family reunion for Stanton's mom's side of the family. It was great to see family and share the joy of our new family member. And the fact that it was held on Mount Magazine was a super plus for me personally. Usually the reunion is held at a lake location in AR. But for me, I'd rather wake up to the mountain view than the lake air any day. And here's some pictures to prove it.

It was also our anniversary weekend - 6 years of wedded bliss. The hike up to the top of the mountain was our special outing. We were officially on the highest point between the Appalachians and Rocky mountains. Don't get me wrong, I would love to go up to some snow capped mountains, but after being in TX for a while, any elevation change is a thrill.



We ended the weekend with a birthday celebration for my mom. She got just what she wanted, all her kids and grandkids in one house. It was very nice.


All that to say, we are running out of energy and patience and a new semester is just about to start again. We've already got another trip back home planned for next weekend, but I'm sure that won't be enough. Any one have any quick rejuvenation tips? I'm hoping that whatever job I do eventually have, it will be on an academic schedule. Also, I think it's worth noting that they train you to have 2 full months off. So a long weekend here and there is barely enough to realize that you're not at work, much less get fully recuperated.

So, for those of you still in school, I leave you with this advice, a quote from Billy Madison...

"STAY HERE AS LONG AS YOU CAN!"