I am not stressed out. Really.

This is one of the busiest times of the year at the school where I work, and the students are finished on May 29. Graduation is the first Sunday in June, and the stress levels are at a high, with exams, grades, end-of-the-year activities. I've been so busy printing the hundreds and hundreds of award certificates that the students will receive on two separate prize nights, the first of which is mid-week. I do them in a mail merge, but still, it's very time-consuming. And today, something happened with my report card system that had me in a near-panic. Luckily, we have a good IT guy at school, and disaster was averted. I was so involved in getting everything finished, that when I looked up from my desk, I saw that it was 4:30. And my day ends at 4.

I know I try not to post about my work, but I'm not really revealing too much here.

So I'm driving home, my hands tense on the wheel, and I'm thinking that what I really wanted was a drink. But, you see, I make it a point not to drink during the week. I have all these stupid rules, and this is one of them. And, for me, it seems to work. So unless I'm celebrating something, or at a nice restaurant that warrants a glass of wine, I don't drink to calm myself down. Well, not during the week, ok? Well, it makes sense to me, and that's what matters.

Anyway, I'm thinking I need to calm down, calm down. And I start to think about getting home, and seeing that dog of mine and how happy he will be just to see me come through the door. And then we'd go out for a walk, and suddenly I started feeling quieter. And calmer. And then I looked up and that's when I noticed the clouds. The sky was full of them. Driving over the canal bridge was simply beautiful. It was a crisp afternoon with bright skies and many well-defined clouds.

By the time I drove down the main driveway of the farm, I was even more relaxed, because it's just so darn pretty here.

And then I came in the front door and there was that beautiful dog, who was so happy to see me. I quickly got changed and grabbed the camera and headed out to get pictures of the amazing clouds. The wind has been blowing at a good clip most of the day, and by the time I got outside, the skies were clearing. So I didn't get the cloud-filled skies that I wanted, but I'm ok with these. I sat down by the pond after our walk, and marveled at how much better I felt.

Ok. All is well now. So, until tomorrow, my friends . . .