“Every man has only enough strength to complete those assignments that he is fully convinced are important.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German writer and philosopher

Saturday and Sunday all seem to run together. Weekends are busy and filled with unscheduled time to get things done including all of the tasks and jobs left undone from the week. Of course there is the unexpected, the task or job that pops up and needs to be done at that moment. I got pulled into such a job Saturday and am still finishing it Sunday morning.

I have written about time before and Goethe’s remark still haunts me. I have so many important tasks and jobs to accomplish yet I get mired in tasks and jobs I enjoy; such as writing which is odd because a few years ago I would have really struggled to write and keep up what I started in late May. I really miss the time to write and keep up the blog. The jobs that have the least appeal are the ones that don’t get done. I have a bag of such jobs laying at my feet write now.

It is less than two weeks until Christmas and outside the house is decorated and the tree is up and being decorated as I write directly above me in the living room. Olivia is helping momma and they are getting the tree ready for Christmas. The tree is beautiful when it is done and is the focal point of the living room. In the evening when it is lit the room is ablaze in Christmas spirit. It is Ivy’s first Christmas and I am worried about her and the tree; much like I was when William and Olivia were young, worried that the tree would not survive or the tree would fall over on them, or other such possibilities. William and Olivia weathered the storm and the Christmas tree survived so I suppose it will survive Ivy as well.

The weather outside is awful with light snow and howling winds. The weekend began with rain on Saturday and then snow late in the evening coating everything that was wet with snow. This morning, I took Ivy for a walk and we were the first in the neighborhood outdoors leaving our impressions in the fresh snow. It was quiet and peaceful.

My project is almost complete and I need to get working on some of the important and urgent tasks such as grading and getting ready for tomorrow. We begin a new unit in Language Arts with research and the research paper. Students will be learning research skills while learning about a disease and how it affects the body systems. It is a great unit to wrap around the holiday break. In geography, we are looking at the history and culture of the USA, Canada, and Mexico and it is the geography bee on Friday to crown our class winner for the school bee in January when we come back from Christmas Break. I look forward to the contest each year; students need to answer questions like:

• “Equality before the Law” is the motto of a Great Plains state that is home to Chimney Rock National Historic Site. Name this state. Choices are Idaho, Nebraska, or Utah
• The Danube and one of its major tributaries are generally recognized as marking the northern boundary of which peninsula? Choices are Balkan Peninsula, Iberian Peninsula, or Jutland Peninsula

If you would like more questions follow the link to the National Geographic Society’s Geography Bee daily quiz and quiz yourself. I earned 8995 of 10000 points today! How did you do (I played on apprentice because I was looking for questions). Leave a comment to let me know how you did!

By my count there are 18 days remaining in 2011, Monday is the 72^nd day of the school year and there are seven days remaining until school lets out for Christmas Break. As I have done all year and will continue to do, I choose to Make the Days Count, one day at a time.