A few minutes ago, I was just sitting at the dinner table after an easy Wednesday-night meal of veggie burgers and sweet-potato fries, thinking that I could basically head to bed immediately, if I weren’t too tired to get up from my chair. It was 7:15.

I did manage to get up, clean up (with help), and make my way over to the couch where I now sit, but it was quite an undertaking. I am tired.

In a good way, though, you know? I feel satisfied with what I got done today. I feel productive.

This summer, I am teaching five days a week — a summer intensive class that only lasts for five weeks and yet tries to cover the same ground as a 16-week semester would. I really have to tip my hat to the middle- and high-school teachers out there, who teach several classes, five days a week, all year. I only do it for one class, for half the summer, and I’m still sitting here crying for my blankie and my wine.

My typical day right now involves scrounging around for a decent work-appropriate outfit, heading into the office right now to prep/grade before class, teaching, coming home for lunch, taking an hour of quiet time for reading, doing a workout, cooking dinner (on my nights), and then settling in for an hour or two of work and/or reading and/or TV, and then early to bed.

It’s actually a really nice schedule. These days are good: full of things that matter and things that I enjoy. I appreciate that I’m only on campus for about six hours a day and that I have a quiet hour after lunch to just chill and not talk to anyone. I appreciate that I have the time to fit in a run or a trip to the gym without having to juggle other things around. I appreciate that my husband and I trade off cooking nights. But I am still tired.

I want to attribute part of it to the fact that I am once again increasing my run mileage plus going to a weight-lifting class twice a week. On the nights when I come home from lifting, I basically inhale my entire dinner in about 4 minutes and then go back for seconds and then sit there in my chair letting my eyes slowly glaze over. (I am a charming date; you should all be jealous of my husband. Also, note to any potential future dinner guests: I’m going to need you to do all the talking so I can just sit here and eat.)

Well, friends, it seems I am rambling. I suppose if there’s any point to this entry, it is to say this: life is good. It is more exhausting than I think it really should be, at the moment, but it is still good.

Also, I am going to need to find at least one of my Orphan Back clones so I can get her to cover my class a couple times per week. Let me know if y’all have any tips on that.