The Best of Times

Two weeks off.

Two glorious weeks of no teaching.

Two phenomenal weeks of no pupils pestering me for passwords or Internet access.

Two stupendous weeks of not having to persuade tired (and mostly elderly) relief teachers to come in for 2 hours to cover horrendous classes while their regular teachers are off doing a course on Advanced Macrame for New Teachers.

Essential training for new teachers

Sheer.  Bloody.  Bliss.

Or so I thought. 

My beloved informed me last night that she had been making a little list over the last 11 weeks (it's been a particularly long term) and that it was now time to put it into action.

The list is in two parts.

My idea of a holiday

My beloved's idea of my holiday

THINGS TO DO ABOUT THE HOUSE      and        THINGS TO DO WITH MY BELOVED

The "To Do" list for the house is bad enough.

• Clean out all guttering.
• Replace burnt-out light bulbs.
• Do the high level dusting.
• Wash the outside windows.
• Clean the barbecue of all the congealed summer-long grease and carbonised deposits.
• Scrub the wooden decks.
• Take down all the Sun Sails (The sunlight down here in New Zealand can be particularly intense, and most families set up Heavy-Duty netting sun sails as protection against the sun)
• Put all the garden furniture in storage.
• Weed the garden.
• Buy new goldfish (see Mass Murder in Silverstream)
• Tidy the garage.
• Cut back the bush and trees.
• Take down, de-rust, re-prime and paint two metal angels that have been hanging on a cherry tree for the last three years.  (Why anyone of a sound mind would want two metal angels in a cherry tree is beyond me.  I know my place. I'll take them down and do all that is required)
• Tidy up the anaconda's nest of cables and adaptors behind the computer and the TV.
• Wash, clean and check fluid levels of our cars.
• Repaint the bathroom ceiling.
• Crawl under the foundations and check for any water seepage and/or damage.

Unusual find in the foundations

But the "To Do" list with my beloved is almost worse.

• Go swimming at least three times a week.
• Stay awake past 8pm, and don't fall asleep in the middle of a discussion.
• Talk to each other every day in a meaningful way.
• Book and go to at least two shows a week.
• STAY OFF THE COMPUTER unless it's organising a show.
• Go to Melbourne for 5 days, ignoring the rather fragile state of our finances and the precarious state of our roof.
• Take the dog for a walk everyday.  Together.  Unless it's raining, then I go out with the dog.

He doesn't like walking in the rain any more than I do.

Do we have a choice?

I wonder if I can arrange to get called back to school early?

I don't really need two weeks off. 

Do I?