I’m amazed at what I accomplished last night. Even though I was fighting a serious cold, and even though I am usually never able to do school work in the evening, and even though I so wanted to simply sip a glass of wine and go quietly to bed, I came home from school around six and graded twenty-three long essays. I took some cold medication and sat at my desk for three hours, reading and assessing one essay after another. Not only did I get through all the essays, I loved them even more that most of my students’ essays, and I seemed to get more alert and interested as the minutes passed. This is wonderful to consider, because it suggests a possible method of work in the future. Instead of spending the evening in dribs and drabs and going to bed before nine, perhaps I could make some of my nights happily productive work sessions. Instead of using much of my weekends for school work, maybe I could turn the evenings into profitable and satisfying hours. After all, I certainly did enjoy sitting under the lamplight last night and reading my students’ skillful writing. I could even prepare a pot of healthy tea to take in sips as I work through papers. It might well be a very pleasing way to bring a school day to a close – strong writing, pleasurable tea, and a little Mozart to add a sense of leisure to the hours.