I can see the light...

Fall term is over! That means that I only have ONE more term (just ten more weeks!) of slogging through papers, projects and presentations and listening to people talk at me for hours on end. And then it's just ten weeks of internship (essentially, working full-time between my current part-time job and future part-time internship) which I've had lined up since before Thanksgiving. And then (well, after one intimidating oral examination), I will be a Master of Public Health. Hallelujah--the end is near.

The end of this particular term actually wasn't too horrible. It was mostly the middle, say weeks 4-8ish where I can pretty much sum up our life in just a few quotes:

• "But I'm just so tired..."
•  "I just want to be a normal person." (i.e. I just want to work 40 hours a week and leave work at work. Not go to work AND school and come home and work on health systems, bioethics, epi, or environmental health)
• "There aren't enough hours in the day! I NEED more time."
• "Babe, you are SO close to being done. You can do this."
• Or my personal favorite (I wish I was making this up)-- "I don't like being a b**** all the time!" Followed by me dissolving in tears. That was a fun night.

On the lighter side of things, we have learned that as my brain continues to fill up with information, my ability to speak the English language starts to wane. There were a few you-had-to-be-there kind of moments, but in recent weeks, I have had a few missteps in speaking that left my husband, and whoever else happened to be there, absolutely in tears. We all need a little humor, right?

My husband, as always, has been instrumental in helping me see the big picture and encouraging me to have a little fun. Over the past few weeks, we've gone to a show in Portland (Minus the Bear), closed out the winery season with a little wine tasting at our local Tyee Vineyards, and of course, put up the Christmas tree and checked out some local holiday events. Much of my classes this term were focused on illness and death, so I have needed to take a little breather every here and there.

Tomorrow, I'll start playing catch-up and address the disaster that is my house, get our Christmas cards and packages ready to mail, and make some long overdue phone calls to faraway friends. But tonight, we celebrate! Times two! First, with my lovely colleagues to celebrate the holiday season and then with my cohort to celebrate that we have survived another term. Cheers!