Monday, May 22, 2023

The May Juggernaut

I often reflect on the fact that May is - hands down - the best month in New Jersey.  Days can often be warm - but not yet sweltering - and nighttime sleeping weather is cool enough that a quilt and blanket keep me cozy as I sleep with the windows open.  Birds sing me awake in the mornings and the days are steadily getting longer.  Plants and gardens are looking splendid, with hostas, peonies, irises, and rhododendrons at their best.  The scent of my neighbor’s lilac bush perfumes the day into the  golden twilight.  

May is all those things but it’s also the last full month of school and the days are crammed full, accompanied by a to-do list that gets longer and longer, seemingly resistant to completion of anything. My Middle School students are alternately energized by the blissful weather and then exhausted at the idea of doing a single damn thing.   The end-of-the year is in sight but not quite within reach and they can be overwhelmed.  I understand the feeling; I’ve been known to read an extra chapter when I should just turn out the light and go to sleep.  The front porch calls to me with a siren song of temptation and I don't bother to resist.  

For me, the countdown to the close of the school year officially starts today.  There are 13 days between me and the sweet freedom of June 8, punctuated by the long weekend of Memorial Day, which will be a welcome respite.  As the busy days fly by, I will count them down and look forward to the bliss of Summer’s freedom.


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