I'm sure many of you have noticed that I have not been as permanent a fixture in camp as in previous months. To explain:
As the end of the school year draws to a close, I'm experiencing a major grading and lesson planning crunch that requires a good deal of my time and energy. It seems that I remain at school five minutes later each day; that the paperwork is growing exponentially; and that every ounce of my creativity is being poured into capturing my students' attention and keeping them motivated throughout these last twenty days. Interestingly enough, I'm not too stressed. My lessons are going extremely well, probably because of my enthusiasm and the importance I have placed on these final few lessons. (I actually never expected my Freshmen to love Romeo and Juliet, or for my Sophomores to totally dig The Crucible - how many high school English teachers can actually say that their students are interested in classical literature?)
At any rate, I come home and die on the couch, then drag myself off to bed a few hours later. Even if I somehow manage to forego the nap, I usually feel too drained, too devoid of creativity, to come to camp. When I do, it takes ten minutes between posts while I strive to crank my brain into gear and find the words that usually come so easily, and that's just... frustrating.
Besides this, my daughter and time with my Master will always come first. If it feels like a night to just relax on the couch and watch movies once dinner is out of the way and kiddo is homework'd, bathed, bedtime-storied, and off to the Land of Nod, that's going to be a night I -- we -- don't come to camp. If we're tapped out on movies and have a bit of energy, we'll hop online. Sometimes my Master is in camp without me because I'm leaving drool stains on the couch cushions, but I'm never in camp without him, because time with him comes first. It's certainly not that I'm not "allowed" to be in camp if he's not in the mood to role-play; nor is it that I'm one of those slaves who only feels the need to come to camp if her Master is there. Simply, I am enjoying, treasuring, cherishing every single moment with him. I'm happy and healthy, despite my hectic schedule, and I have to admit that camp is just a bit less of a priority these days.
Still, I'd be around a LOT more if not for the end-of-year crunch. I promise you'll see me more after June 14th!
