productivity never felt so good

Have you ever found yourself needing to just accomplish things?  For the last month I have found myself in this constant state of forward motion.  My summer to-do list seemed simple enough to begin with: 

• write master's portfolio
• train for half marathon
• take final class in masters program
• sleep 8+ hours a night 
• move
• read books for pleasure
• apply for a professional teaching license 
• become a Minnesota resident 
• start career as a special education teacher 

What I didn't realize is that my list wasn't so simple after all.  Summer will soon come to an accelerated close and there are still numerous items on that list yet to be fulfilled.  My top 3 summer priorities have taken up the vast majority of my time and, at times, have competed for my attention.  I think I can successfully handle two of the three at one time, but trying to balance all three simultaneously is a little too much for my multitasking skills.   As of late, my half-marathon training has been suffering since I made the decision to pour my time and energy into finishing up school.  I am one week away from being done with my final class in graduate school and as such, I have been working extra hard on my masters portfolio in hopes to finish the two around the same time.   I started this program in September of 2008 and I have been fighting my way to the finish line every semester since (Fall, Spring, Summer, Fall, Spring, Summer).  I didn't realize that getting a masters degree was a test of financial stability, mental strength, emotional health, academic skill and faith.  This process has been a marathon in and of itself which leaves me in a state of awe as I think about how much I have learned and how much life I have lived over 2 academically intense years. 

Looking forward, I can honestly say that I am ready to leave this part of my life behind me.   I started realizing early this week that if I didn't start investing a little more time into my masters portfolio then I wasn't going to be in a position to emotionally move past graduate school.  I want to carry the benefits of grad school with me as I pursue my career but it's important for me to leave the obligation of my masters program behind.  I have been a little bit tearful lately for many reasons, but one of them is the pure shock of actually approaching the end to such a significant part of my life thus far.  I will never be able to fully articulate the endurance it has taken to get here, or the provision of the Lord for timing all things according to His will.   Even as I type this I am overwhelmed with the knowledge  that I am 2 assignments away from being done with all of the coursework in my program.  I would have loved to be done with everything in May, but I can't change the way my courses fell into place and I have to believe that God's timing is better than mine. 

As for the other things on my to-do list. . . well, let's just say that other than moving, I haven't done a super awesome job of sticking to the list.  I read a couple of books for pleasure at the beginning of summer but I've been carrying around textbooks ever since.  I started out sleeping great but lately (probably because of all of the loud & long storms) I haven't been sleeping well at all.  The rest, I'll have to save for another post!