List 7: Things I will be giving up

School starts. . .well, today, actually, even though classes don't technically begin until next week. I had orientation today, and it was packed full of things I still have to do.

First, some relevant mathematics:

(32-38 hours of class/week) x (3 hours of prep/hour of class) = No. Life.

I may be able to shave a little off the recommended study time, but given the hours that I'll be in class and clinicals, even if I do only 2 hours per hour of lecture, that doesn't leave a lot of free time.

So I hereby offer my sacrifices to academic excellece (or at least adequacy):

1. Television. I don't watch that much, but I will have to shave it down to the absolute minimum. That may mean I tape my two favorite shows, and watch them obsessively during the semester breaks.

2. Choir. Okay, so it was only 1 hour per week, but the practice is at 8 pm. That is the last hour of daylight on many days, and it is an hour when most of my kids are outside, or electronically entertained. It may be my only quiet hour of home study during the week.

3. Snacks. I'll be spending a significant amount of time on campus, or in a hospital, away from my refrigerator and pantry. If I also fail to take cash, and given the brutal sprawl of the campus and minimal student parking, I might actually lose weight.

4. Snooze. When the alarm goes off, I'll just have to get up. Every 9 minutes I can study without kids talking to me is worth 20 minutes with kids talking to me.

5. Leisure reading. This is a killer. I love to read. I love to roll the words in my mind, to laugh when it is witty and cry when it is sad. I love to ponder when it is thought provoking and snort when it is contemptible. I'll miss it. But it's only for 16 months, minus semester breaks.

There may be other sacrifices waiting in the wings, but right now they have the sense to keep their heads down while I still imagine this might be doable. If they were to make demands now, I'd probably come unglued. And Honey doesn't know quite enough anatomy to put all of the pieces back together.