Checking it twice

Just like Santa Claus, I’m a huge fan of lists. This past weekend, overwhelmed by the number of teaching deadlines I need to juggle from now until Christmas, I sat down and made a list of lists. From now through mid-December, every day has a dedicated page in my teaching notebook, and each day has its own list. Simply by flipping to a given day’s list, I can see what is due when and when I plan to work on any given item.

Also this weekend, I updated my Christmas card list: the first step toward actually sending Christmas cards this year. Last year, I postponed my Christmas cards until New Year’s, and even then I never got around to sending them: another uncrossed item on yet another to-do list. This year, though, I’m hopeful; hope springs eternal, as the saying goes.

If the Grading Grind between now and the day after Christmas, when my last batch of online grades is due, isn’t too bad, maybe I’ll send this year’s Christmas cards in time for Christmas…or maybe New Year’s…or maybe “whenever.” It strikes me that Santa seems perpetually jolly during December, which is technically his busy season. How does he withstand his own daunting workload? The answer, I think, is in those lists, duly checked twice, that show a time for everything and everything in its time.

Both of today’s images are from a photo-set of Christmas shop windows in downtown Keene. Enjoy!