here we go...

I did an extra-deep clean of the house this morning. I went grocery shopping today with Sam. We stopped by the post office to mail a package. Sam and I returned library books this afternoon. The laundry is done. I've tried to think of all of the errands and household chores that need to happen, in an effort to make the next few days a little easier. Come tomorrow morning, I will be responsible for 122 art history students until mid-December. (I felt the stress mounting as I typed that last sentence!)

For the past two weeks I've been reflecting on this past summer. I had so many plans for things that I wanted to do - one of the main ones being that I wanted to be completely prepared for my upcoming Brazilian art class. And, well, I'm not nearly as prepared as I had hoped to be. I'm wrestling with the disappointment of not meeting my personal goal, and also trying to battle the urge to feel stressed or anxious about this class. I know it will be fun and interesting to teach, but I'm nervous to teach a full course on such an obscure topic. I feel like I need to look at five, six, or seven different sources to compile the information I need for each lecture. And finding/scanning/preparing about 40-60 images for each PowerPoint presentation is going to take lots of time. Argh! There is so much to do!

Where did the summer go? What did I do with my time? Why didn't I get more done for this class? I feel like I was really busy - and I was - but I ended up doing things that I didn't anticipate:

• I taught an intensive six week course online (just a basic introduction to art)
• I wrote a proposal (along with a colleague in Mississippi) for a 2013 CAA conference panel
• I wrote an abstract for an upcoming Women's Studies conference this November
• We went to Disneyland with my family
• I recorded 13 lectures (each one about 2.5 hours long) for the online class that I'll be teaching this Fall
• I've blogged (10 posts on this site and 23 art history posts)
• I've read at least twenty art history articles and books
• I've started about six lectures on Brazilian art (with a smattering of scanned images)
• I've scanned about 20 pictures on Brazilian art
• I've prepared some PDF files on Brazilian art for students to read
• I moved my art history blog to a new site (with a lot of help from J)
• I spent every day with Sammy Sam.

And, there you have it. That's what I've done this summer. And looking back at this list, I realize that I'm really glad about the things that I did - even though I didn't accomplish everything that I had hoped to do.

Even though I'm not 100% prepared for this Brazilian class, I do feel ready to get in the classroom and start teaching at least something. I've thought and stewed about this class for so long - I'd like to stop thinking and start doing.