Gratitude: Thanksgiving Break

 There is a saying that you should create a life that you do not need a vacation from. I feel that. As someone who chose the teaching profession, I learned quickly that the breaks are absolutely essential. Maybe I am doing things wrong, but I cannot seem to keep up on health and wellness other than during breaks. I am grading and lesson planning and organizing and conferencing, etc. eight to ten hours a day (sometimes eleven to twelve when grading is piled high), and it just does not leave time to do much else except be mentally and physically exhausted. I have been evaluating what I assign and how I measure student performance in order to work smarter not harder, so my hopes are high that I will soon not have to be on such a grind. I am in my eleventh year of teaching now, so I feel like I probably should have figured this out by now. My only  excuse is that I have been teaching a wide range of classes over the years, and only in these last two school years have I been teaching core English classes again. That has got to be the issue. That all said, I am exceedingly grateful to have this Thanksgiving break to take care of myself and my family and my home. The comfort and peace it is giving me is palpable. I needed these days off to recuperate, rejuvenate, and restore.