A Crazy Week

I have been BURIED this week under the huge responsibility of my Brave Writer MLA Research Paper class. The students are working on all of the steps involved in writing a 5-7 page research paper with an argumentative edge according to the MLA (Modern Language Association) Style. It seems as though this week started last month as I've been up working late almost every night, including being up until 3:00 AM Wednesday night/Thursday morning, typing up print and non-print source formatting. Before I separated the sources into three documents, I had written nine pages of material that night alone. In five days we've posted almost 200 posts/replies ... abd the class only has eight students. And, of course, I've replied to all of their replies. It's been simply crazy. Really crazy.

This weekend I need to write several long posts for the MLA class on taking notes, explaining summaries and paraphrases, dangers of plagiarism, note cards vs. computer notes, etc. Plus I need to write several handouts for my co-op poetry class for next Thursday, and start writing the Brave Writer monthly subscriptions The Arrow and The Boomerang which need to be completed by the end of the month. I've been doing The Boomerang (7th-9th grades) since last winter, but The Arrow (which is written for children ages 8-12) is brand-new to me. I will probably work on known entity first until I can see some samples of The Arrow from Julie. So I have a lot of my plate this week. More than usual.

Judith, my dear poet friend who lives in my town, has been asked to facilitate a Writers' Day at the beautiful Sacred Rocks Reserve next weekend -- right around the time of my deadlines. I would ADORE having a day set aside to work on my own writing in a serene and beautiful setting, but I just don't see how I can make it work right now. I have a hard time relaxing and creating when I have deadlines hanging over my head. And I've totally had to discard any thought of reading Les Miserables with our church's Logos Discussion Group at the end of the month; I don't have the time or mental energy to read a 1200+ page novel. So I broke down and ordered both the regular movie and the musical version to watch this week. Sometime this week, that is.

You may wonder why a copy of Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse is heading this post. Well, the Twilight books have been my escape this week. I sat down this week and reread what there is of the unfinished Midnight Sun on Meyer's website -- which is the Twilight story from Edward's point-of-view rather than from Bella's, one I wish Meyer would consider finishing as she stopped writing just before the meadow scene which is the crucial turning point of Edward and Bella's romance. It's so intriguing! I first read Midnight Sun in a huge rush, but this time I savored it and am even more impressed with Meyer's character development and story-telling expertise. Edward and Bella truly belong to the annals of literary romantic couples like Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, Romeo and Juliet, Catherine and Healthcliff, and Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester, some of which Meyer uses as a background details in the books. Truly, Meyers has reached for that level and made it. Edward and Bella were created for each other, triumph through overwhelming odds, and love each other with an eternal love for the ages. Their story was just what I needed to help me relax through a very long and arduous week.

On a side note, my chiropractor today told me about a holistic doctor in LA who has had some real success in healing of patients with autoimmune disorders like mine: he tells them to rest for sixteen+ hours a day. I could only laugh -- I've been making it on 5-6 hours of sleep a night plus a two-hour nap each day this week. The kids need me more than usual with their homeschooling this year, so it's just the way it's gonna be. But I will make an effort to rest more ... as my deadlines allow, hoping for perhaps a little more pain relief than I am currently feeling.