No, not like Ross and Rachel. I know, I thought of that line too. But I’m thinking more about the break I took between the end of August and the beginning of 2021.

For those of you who don’t know, I am a teacher and this year has been a mile a minute, never ending carnival with gnashing teeth, whips and chairs, sad clowns, and the barkers shouting at you if you just take a chance the prizes will be enormous and then it takes you two hours to win a palm sized stuffed animal.

But I digress, this school year has made me do that a lot actually. All of a sudden it’s one in the morning and I’m wide awake wondering if Johnny and Suzy have enough to eat and they can turn the heat on and have hot water. Never mind the three am wakeups that make me doubt my curriculum choices, my ability to manage my ‘classroom’ effectively, and the relationships I barely feel like I’ve started building with my students so they trust me and are willing to take academic risks.

With all of that something had to give and it was my writing. Which was hard because I love to write and I missed it. So I decided last night that my plan for 2021 has to include me having time to write. Now, I’m not sure how often it will be, but I’m sure it will happen when it can and for today that’s enough. Welcome 2021, let’s make writing a priority this year.