For example, I pledge to clean out the entire basement. I tried that a year ago and got 75% of it done and put out thirteen bags of trash. It was awesome! Now, though, what I have is manageable and probably stuff that will require painstaking sorting (family slides and super-8mm movies from when we were kids, judo trophies that belong to my boys, perfectly usable sleds, sports equipment...). This is a job that will take more than a day ... days ... weeks, probably. I do, however, reorganize the containers of candles and put them nicely into the kitchen. Success!
I pledge to go through all of my files. I did this last summer, so what is left is probably stuff that I cannot toss, anyway -- taxes within seven years, insurance policies, half-written manuscripts... Really, this is a job that will also take days because now I'm down to the nitty of the gritty, and each document requires perusal.
I also have a pile of essays to finish correcting. It has taken weeks to get through half of them because they're not as well edited as they should be. I spend anywhere from ten to forty-five minutes per essay, and I have about a hundred to complete. I am down to the last forty or so. But, of course, there are the hundred poetry projects to grade, as well. Did I mention the planning, my ed eval, and my license renewal? Oh, yeah. There are those things to do, also.Somewhere in the midst of this, I would love to read a book, plus I am definitely going to take a mini-vacation before I return to work on Monday. Yup, I'm joining some family members and hopping on a plane. See ya later, crappy Massachusetts weather!
I guess that means this April break will be successful after all. My To-Do List may not get done, but my Make-Do List certainly will.
