Spring Break Stress—by Jamie Levine

Spring Break is coming, and it’s just like Winter Break…only worse. This time, my daughter, Jayda’s school is closed for seven days—meaning she’ll be home with me for ten days straight. Don’t get me wrong—I love spending time with my kid. And since we’re both extremely social, having Jayda home means we’ll be spending time with our good friends, and I’ll be seeing mom-friends I haven’t seen in awhile; so far, I have six play dates set up. But despite all of our plans, it isn’t going to be all fun and games for me.

Starting Thursday, Jayda’s school is on Spring Break—but mine isn’t. And I’m in the midst of a pretty intense cycle of grad school classes. Between Motor Speech Disorders and Acquired Language Disorders, I’m up to my ears in Neuroanatomy, details about dysarthrias, and more than I’ve ever wanted to know about cerebral vascular accidents (a.k.a. strokes). With six more weeks ahead of me until my break before summer classes, I have three quizzes to study for, four major tests to take, and five big projects to finish. And then there are my clinical responsibilities: I have six more sessions with seven clients, and all the paperwork resulting from those sessions to complete.

Jayda is thrilled about her impending Spring Break—and when I told her my school isn’t closed like hers, she begged me to let her join me at Adelphi. Despite what I’ve told her, I still think she suspects my time at school includes snacks and playtime; I only wish. Since I go to class on Sundays, my school’s supposed to be in-session on Easter Sunday, but my two professors chose to cancel their lectures. That was a relief—but it came with a price. To make up for the hours we lost, we need to do extra reading and projects. And the only time I’m able to work while Jayda is on her Spring Break is at night.

Fortunately, I do have family members who offered to take Jayda for a day, which will buy me some much-needed study time during daylight hours. But for the most part, after this Wednesday, I’ll be playing all day with Jayda—and working all night when she sleeps. I’m stressed and tired already thinking about it. But thankfully, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If I can just make it to mid-May, then I can rest. I think I can…. I think I can….