Freedom, Sweet Freedom!

I'm halfway done with my degree?!  What?  Huh?  When did that happen?

My plan was to finish my last final on Monday and then pack, but I was totally out of steam on Monday.  It might have been the fact that I finished two other finals on Sunday (thanks to the 6" of snow that cancelled church and the kids' thing I was supposed to do), or it could have just been a gigantic case of the not-giving-a-craps.  So instead of writing on Monday I slept in, watched TV, packed, and baked cookies.  (I did do a small amount of cleaning in anticipation of leaving for a month.)  It was great until about 12am on Tuesday morning when panic set in. 

I panicked until 1am when I decided to give in and go to bed.  I got up bright and early at 5am to do the dishes from the cookies I baked (stress baking has its drawbacks) and made the half mile trek to the train station at 5:30 in 11 degree weather. 

The thing I hate the most about flying is flying with a coat.  Where do I put it?  Does it count as a carry on?  Can it go in the overhead bin?  Do I stuff it under my seat?  Do I wear it and then attempt to removed it mid-flight, knocking the glass eye of my seatmate out in the process?  Who is responsible for the damages--me, the airline, or the coat manufacturer?  What if stuff falls out of the pockets?  There has to be a solution!  Yesterday there wasn't one.  It was 11 in Boston and 60 in Missouri.  Flying with my coat happened.

Anyway...  Because I didn't get my last final done on Monday I did half of it at Houston Hobby and the other half in my sister's living room while my nephew screamed and made engine sounds, and my sister and brother-in-law tried to figure out why their pre-owned piano has a 110v power cord coming out of it.  I postulate that it's like a tractor engine warmer, and that this particular piano was once owned by a pianist who enjoyed brisk, outdoor morning practice. My final paper may or may not have been relevant to the topics I was supposed to write about, but sometimes done is better than good.

Bottom line, my finals are done and I'm free!!!!!  I did my first ever Wordle, which is a much more interesting way to show you what I've been working on.  I took the 100+ pages of stuff I've written this semester and plugged them in and, voila!

Now I'm watching Home Alone (the first one) and having an adult beverage.  Because, darn it, I can!

And now for something not-so-completely different, my 5 favorite Christmas movies:
White Christmas
Elf
A Matter of Principle
An American Christmas Carol
Home Alone

And even though it isn't strictly Christmassy, I always want to watch the 1988 BBC version of The Chronicles of Narnia.  That and Anne of Green Gables reminds me of breaks spent with PBS/BBC.  PBS and I are kindred spirits.

And now to bed for a long winter's nap!  I hope I remembered to pack my kerchief...