The end of the semester.

So, its that time of year when Mimi has completely lost her mind. I have forgotten and remembered and forgotten and remembered, what you say, I forgot. I did an oral presentation today, have a paper due on Fri, a project due next Wed and finals in a week and a half. I'm not feeling that overwhelmed, just really tired, ready for a break, ready for some good sleep, ready for a breath! I am already plotting my six weeks of summer that will be in just two weeks. I am planning to read:

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Color of Water by James McBride
Moby Dick by Herman Melville (planning to take most of hte summer to work on this one)
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

And whatever other finds I find. I am hosting book club in July and we are doing a poetry night. I'm very excited about this and hope to hear a plethera of amazing poetry. I plan to read one of my own poems and one by e.e. cummings (my new fave). I also will be planting (hopefully), working in the yard, swimming, and working on family history (also a book I have started working on related to this topic). I know it sounds like a lot but all of these things seem like a breath of fresh air. Like I can come up and just enjoy without any pressure for a little while. Oh, I forgot one more thing, I need to keep up with my french so I don't feel totally out of practice when I start my second semester in July. I hope I can enjoy my kids, enjoy my house, my kitchen (which I actually miss). I miss cleaning and doing laundry and well, just being the mom and wife. With Dave home I have really relied on him to do a lot of these things (and he does a lot) but I want my job back. I love to serve my family, my neighbors, my ward. I miss that time to be with people. The hardest thing about school is the isolation. I think I have blogged this semester to fill that for myself. It has been a good outlet, to feel like I'm part of a community (even though its in cyberspace).
So, now I'm headed into the satirical world of Anton Chekov. He is very....odd. I'm writing a paper on his play The Cherry Orchard. It is set in early 20th century Russia before the Bolshevics. It is fascinating! I didn't like it at first because, I'm reading Shakespeare too and how can you compare? But this play, as I've studied it deeper has become a very interesting read. The characters are incredibly overdramatic about their lives but they are paralyzed by their grief, stuck in the past. The play represents a host of social issues and is really piquing my interest, which is good because I need an A to get an A in the course. Well, I'll post how my semester ends up in a week or too.