It is over.

I'm done. All the papers have their red numbers written on them, and all the ID numbers have little grades by them. My desk is even relatively clean.

Today hasn't been quite as savorable as the end of some prior semesters (though it was better than last semester's), primarily because my summer field course starts up next week. This year's field course will be much like last year's; the focus will be a week at a field site up in Canada. So, after turning in my grades (and, I'll admit, going to a departmental end-of-the-semester party), I had to work on getting field gear ready, e-mailing my students, and preparing my syllabus.

However, I'm not complaining. It's the end of the semester, I won't have to grade another exam for more than three months, and within a week I'll be in Canada. My cortisol levels are already at a 16-week low.

Categories:

• personal
• teaching