Aloha, Muji. I'm not the teacher or student, but married to a teacher and he's got finals this week too. He's excited to finish but... I, on the other hand, always have anxiety about making ends meet for the summer, so I hate when the semester ends. Changes in routine / habits always make anxiety for me lol. Plus we always have to travel somewhere during the summer and I don't travel very well because of chronic pain so I always stress about that too. I hope the end of your week plays out well and you have a good summer.

I went to sit on the University of Delaware campus yesterday. I love campus sitting, be the campus academic, religious or business. I have even found one or two medical campuses that are calm enough for meditation. I think. Maybe. Can't remember which ones just now. Maybe just medical campuses on the edge of public parks. Medical campuses feel more shrines of academic arrogance.

Seemed to me I could read the end of semester stress signs in every person who passed. I sometimes wonder if that academic stress conditioning is a source of cultural psychosis. It felt thick enough to cut with a knife and more contagious than any viral epidemic that has ever swept the planet.

Gentlest of support while you ride it out for another round.

I have none of my own other than living in a university town, so the finals week and then graduation make all us locals hide and pray we don't run into anyone from the university. For those employed there, it's basically hellish, and I give you a paw-bump.

Ha! You are right about how a college campus turns into a stress soup this time of year. Thanks for validating from that from the universities where you are located, arfie and Leo.

Blue, I'm glad you mentioned that financial stress. I teach at the community college that was just officially revealed by state documents to pay faculty and staff the lowest salaries in my whole state.

Those of us on 9 month annual contracts live paycheck to paycheck during the year as it is. So we find it hard to save up all year to pay our bills during those summer paydays we miss until the next school year begins.

I've signed up for summer school, but our administration closes any class on day one that hasn't got 10 or more students enrolled. Our college's enrollment is falling in general; we just had to permanently close one of our two satellite campuses due to lack of students. So it's stressful but not surprising that my summer school class has only 3 students registered out of the required 10. My summer school class is likely to close, so there goes any chance of summer income.

It's stressful to grade finals looking forward to that. I live frugally, even traveling to Mexico and in my stays there. I take discount flights with multiple stops with long layovers to get there and when I stay there I don't stay in US chain hotels but in Mexican hotels on side streets instead. I go there to begin with to figure out how to retire there since it's cheaper and I can't afford to retire in my own country of the USA now. And Mexico got universal health insurance in 2012.

Therefore, Blue, I share your household's concern about the financial stress of summer looming out there every year on top of the stress of grading finals. Add to that for me the fact that I live alone in a small Appalachian town with little to do other than events at the college, so there's a lack of social interaction. Isolation is another PTSD stresser for me.

So summer ain't "summertime, when the living's easy," as that famous song line goes. Thanks for the validation and support as I prepare for its challenges.

Hugs muji. Sorry the stress of it coming around again so fast.

UMMM how do I answer this. The last week of scrambling to cover all the bases? Tests and final projects? they are enough....But one final requirement and one test fell on the anniversary of losing John (4/23). I managed watching my feet go through the motions, the grades only average. But a week after I was surprised I even had the energy to try, so the grade not failing was a gift. The final in Abby normal fell on the anniversary of the court date of fighting for his last month of medical bills, I went two days early so I would not have the day interfere with my thinking as much. But these days were already in motion on my PTSD flashback series, so again the grade was not as I knew better. I knew the answers and made dumb mistakes that I knew were wrong as soon as I turned in the proctored and timed test. Too bad there was not a verbal test, which I could have asked for (and passed with ease)...but stubborn me wants to pass in a "normal" way. Not different, not accommodated for because of PTSD.

So waiting on the final grades that could have been higher but I passed ..and I do know the information. Just making that enough for now. J.

Ow, thinking bubble bath or, epsom salts - i don't know what but mother henning is wanting to run rampant and I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT???

maybe better to go back to old faithful butt dents in the sand ... and rubber boots, mudd and surf boards sorts of things

bubble bath? okay

No stories of my own however my landlord/roomie is a high school teacher and has been really busy with exams this week.... He's been working so hard..... 150 students means a lot of exams

A bubble bath sounds good.... Big squishy hug......xo

I definitely am, but luckily it's not as bad as it once was like one time our biology teacher decided to make a deal with all of her classes and it was if our whole class gets 70% or higher as a class average on the state test then we don't take a final and instead have some sort of party. But sadly my class is taking a final (35%), so that's fun.

No personal stories but I can imagine it is the storm before the calm. Hang in there Muji, soon lovely rest is on its way hugs