Midterm is more than just a break

It almost feels like home in Minnesota today. With the wind blowing like mad, whistling past the windows to my room and the pine trees outside bowing at its command, I could easily have mistaken today for a typical day on the windblown prairie.

Today brought the season's first flakes of snow. They were more wet than white, drenching the unraked leaves on the grass and the unprepared wayfarers wandering the sidewalks. It is a good day to be inside, to be warm, to be writing. Yesterday's envy for those out vacationing is now replaced with the smug satisfaction of one who does not have to drive back into the city on wet roads. There is a certain feeling in the air today - anticipation I think. Midterm has passed. Christmas approaches. Deadlines now rear their ugly heads. Today is a benchmark. Until now, the semester has been relatively easy. Starting tomorrow, the real work begins. Papers once consigned to the uncertain future are now weighty facts of the ominous present. It is time to set our hands to the plow. Today is the day when we all begin to position ourselves on the start line. Tomorrow the race begins in full.

On your mark. Get set . . .