The Road Home is Littered with Good Intentions

I have great intentions of being a productive, industrious person. Unfortunately, some of my other intentions get in the way, such as my intention to read my magazines in a timely manner, to get at least eight hours of sleep each night, to keep my house clean, and to read as many books as I can in a week. I find myself in a vicious cycle that goes something like this:

Arrive at school at 7:45. Make a list of tasks to complete during the day. At first teaching break, check e-mail and new blog comments. Check teacher mailbox for gift from Secret Santa (disappointed again!). Grade a few papers, organize thoughts for class immediately after lunch, and eat sandwich. Resume teaching until 3:30.

After the kids have been safely delivered into their minivans, I return upstairs to the rest of my to-do list. It usually features immediate items such as "make quiz for Latin tomorrow," "Read up on William and Mary for history lesson tomorrow," and long-term ambitions such as "pre-plan Christmas Around the World event for next week" and "chart out weekly schedule for history lessons in the spring."

I sit down in the computer lab with my notes and textbooks and find myself distracted by all the teachers' kids singing along to Barbie.com until their parents are ready to go. I decide to take my work home, where I can cozy up in some fleece pants, heat up some hot chocolate, and work in the peaceful quiet of my study.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the 40-mile commute, I lose all urgency for the tasks on the to-do list. By the time I arrive home, warm from the greenhouse effect and eyes tired from squinting into the sun, Latin and the English monarchy are the last thing on my mind. I am easily wooed by the siren song of my unopened Reader's Digest on the couch.

Before I know it, it is 5:30 and time for King of the Hill, and then dinner needs to be made and cleaned up, and then it is time for shower and hair maintenance. By the time I have given Callie her daily nurturing and posted a blog, my whole evening is gone, and it is bedtime.

So I arrive at school at 7:45 the next morning with too much work to be done, and I find myself scrambling around trying to stay five minutes ahead of myself, as usual.

It's time to begin planning my New Year's Resolutions.