Doesn't Feel Like Summer

It's been great, but it doesn't feel like summer.  I'm more relaxed than during the semester, but not feeling the summer yet.  I think it's a combination of things.

First, every morning and into early afternoon, I've been doing the writing workshop.  It's great, and I've made real progress on this paper.  (Seriously, this is huge for me.)  But it means I'm spending from 9:30 to 2:30 basically working on this paper or another that I'm fomenting.  (Well, except right now I've lost focus, so I'm blogging.  Actually, a fair bit of today has been a bust.)

Still, it reminds me more than anything of my grad time spent just going to a library (I worked extensively in three different library spaces writing my dissertation: a campus library, a local public library, and a special collections sort of library.  All three were GREAT!) and working. 

I should remember and do this even without a workshop.  for one thing, I'm spread all over a table.  You might be able to fit someone else's work on one corner, but otherwise, I've pretty much colonized this huge big library table.  (There are plenty of other tables, and not many people, so it's fine.)  I remember how much I like colonizing a table and working intensely for a couple of hours.  I need to remember and do that more regularly.  I'm much better at working this way than I am working at home or in my work office for some reason.

Second, there are all these other things I feel I need to do.  I'm taking on a departmental thingy next year, and it's a little scary because it's a big responsibility, but I think I'll do a good job.  Still, I feel like I want to get organized up front so I don't need to worry about that part of it.

My garden is nuts and I want to spend time, but I haven't been because of the other things. 

Among the other things, my young relative sent me a paper and editing instructions from hir teacher, so I spent several hours reading and responding to the paper.  I'm impressed by the teacher's instructions, which seem quite good, especially if they're intended for parents and such who aren't much practiced in reading school essays.  And I think my young relative's writing has improved in nice ways this year.  Still, it was several hours this morning reading and responding to the work.  (My young relative is, like most teens, not always quite as communicative as one might wish.  I'm not sure when the paper is due, so I wanted to not be the thing that would cause my young relative to be late or stressed about lateness.)

I'm leaving town for 10 days on Sunday.  That's good, but it's also stressful.  I'm going to get together with college pals one day, but will mostly spend time with my Mom doing a variety of things.  So it's great.  But it also comes in what will be my first real free week to do summer stuff here. 

I'd like a couple days where I just don't have to do anything.  But then I probably wouldn't get anything done of the many things I need/want to get done.

Now, back to work on this paper.

Edited to add:  You know what's, well, frustrating (among many other things)?  I can write intensely for a couple hours, and really feel like I've put in work and energy, and then I got to type what I've written into the revisions for the paper, and it takes all of 3 minutes to type in.  Seriously, I've spent a couple hours and gotten what, two or three paragraphs revised.  Sigh.