First Year of Uni is Finished!

Yesterday, I went to my last two classes, wrote one exam, and handed in my poetry portfolio and my last big assignment.  I'm done!

On Wednesday, I was scrambling around trying to get everything done on time.  While Lily napped, I tried to get Sunshine to play with her play dough.  She wanted me to play with her.  We spent the afternoon arguing, as I tried to write and she whined for attention.  Finally, after they went to bed around 9, I stayed up for an extra couple of hours, trying to rework my poems.  On Thursday morning, between my first class (which finished early) and my exam, I finished off my big assignment and studied for the exam while the girls were at the day home.

Looking back, that's been what much of the semester has been like.  Some days, studying with the girls has worked well, as they've been happy to play while I read or wrote.  Other days, they demand more attention and I get frustrated as a deadline hangs over my head.  It's the life of any mom, I suppose—often if I'm cleaning the bathroom or baking muffins, one of them will suddenly decide that they need attention NOW.

Childcare was probably the biggest stress of returning to school.  Sunshine loved having babysitters come or going to the day home, but Lily remained my mommy's girl who had to protest whenever I left her behind (though she stopped crying as soon as I was gone).  I felt guilty walking away, even knowing she'd be happily playing when I returned.  Switching childcare providers halfway through the year didn't make it any easier.  We'll see how things work out for next year, but I'm hoping that at the very least, Lily will be a bit older and more willing to go play with someone else like Sunshine.

Overall, it's been a good year.  I've learned more about writing, challenged myself a bit, written some good stories (even got one published!).  I'm looking forward to the summer off to focus on some other writing projects and have more time with the girls.