Phew.

I've been running around like a chicken....ok that's too gross to finish.

Last week, Joshua and I spent some time with my sister and her hubby in Syracuse and it was a wonderful time. We arrived as a surprise to my sister for her 27th birthday (WOAH! You're OLD, Nicole!!!). I'm really happy that we got the chance to do that and it made the end of the summer bittersweet. I think it made her really happy, too, and making my big sister happy always warms my heart. :o)

I start classes on Wednesday, but all the business starts tomorrow. I feel good about it, especially because Joshua and I had an amazingly productive day today. In the span of four hours, we managed to paint some ugly file cabinets we've been meaning to pretty up for awhile, re-arrange and clean out the office, re-arrange our bedroom, and make not one, but TWO dishes of eggplant Parmesan (one to store in the freezer for mid-semester craziness.)

I realized that I feel more like a grown up when I have days like today. Being productive and doing things around our abode makes me feel like a real adult. Not that I don't like the days where we just bee-bop around and waste time, but having tangible proof that I was awake today just feels really good.

Finally, after a long conversation with Joshua the other night about how stressful the last two years have been he laid down the verdict for me:
I have been doing this grad school thing the wrong way. Rather than think about this as my LIFE, I need to think about it as my JOB. I'm a sociologist. I take classes, teach classes, and do research. That's my day job. My life is something else.

In order to make this work, my goal for the semester needs to be seriously working really hard during the day so I can have my life to myself in the evenings and on weekends. Hopefully then I won't feel guilty when I go out with friends for fun, or when I decide to not pick up a book all weekend, or when I want to do things I enjoy. That's my goal. We'll see how it goes.