ABSTRACT
January 11 … tomorrow, winter break ends and I have to go back to school, dreading it as much as the students. We had four weeks off for the holidays and it seemed that every moment was spent either trying to make up for all the time I had spent coaching football or trying to forget about the awful football season and whether my contract would be renewed. I spent time gardening, repairing the house, playing with the baby, spent quality time with Mary, and held basketball practices. Come to think of it, the entire year repeats the holiday cycle: work, work, work, but it seems I am always doing for everyone else but me. Not that I’m complaining, but I’ve been teaching for only a year-and-a-half, and it already feels like five. I am racing toward burnout and saying, “Shouldn’t it be easier than it is?”
