Mid-term Meltdown

This is ridiculous. I've been doing this for how many years? And yet, it never gets any easier, just worse. Usually I can make it to eighth week before I implode, but here it is only the fifth week of term and I am about to scream. Not to mention woefully behind on sleep, if not on my work. It's hard enough managing class prep, grading, department meetings, tenure reviews, workshops and a conference all in the first month. Now the letter of reference requests have started rolling in and I have no idea how I am going to find the time to do them, never mind read the stacks of applications that I am going to be responsible for starting in a few weeks, plus the class prep, grading, book orders for next term, teaching plans for next year, that next conference paper I am supposed to write, writing those eternal book reviews, and, oh, right, grading papers, reading dissertations and dissertation proposals, helping students prepare for orals, while at the same time getting ready for class. Really, it's an introvert's nightmare. How am I supposed to have time to process all of this stuff? How am I supposed to keep going when all I want to do is curl up in a ball and cry? Oh, and I stepped on the Dragon Baby's foot as we were making the Deadliest Crossing on the way to campus this morning. Not. A. Good. Day. And I haven't even had that parent-teacher conference with my son's history teacher yet.

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