It’s Sunday night. Report cards are due to the principal by the end of the day tomorrow. I am sitting on the sofa covered in a blanket with my laptop open and papers scattered on the cushion to my left. A bottle of water, my phone, and a tissue are to my right. I look up at the clock and realize that I have sat in the same spot for most of the evening. The only body parts that have moved are my fingers as they tap away at the keyboard and my head as it looks over at the scattered papers. Occasionally my left arm reaches out to move papers around.
The bathroom calls my name, so I get up and stiffly hobble my way that direction. The going is slow. I try to walk a little faster. I do not want to be away from my work too long. It is past my 10:30 bedtime, I have spent hours upon hours assessing final essays, completing rubrics, and writing report card comments, and I am more than ready to be done.
I settle back on the sofa and set my mind to my work. I double check as soon as I finish each section. My tired brain can too easily make mistakes. When I finally finish and fall into bed, it is nearly 12:30 a.m. I mentally celebrate the achievement and give thanks that report card time only comes four times per year. In a few hours, a new day will begin and along with it a new grading period. I am excited to start anew and tell myself that I will reflect on ways to streamline this process for the next go around in two months.
Ah, this go around of report card time has come to an end. I shut my eyes and fall blissfully into sleep.
