I wish I could claim actual snow–that would be interesting and fun–but alas, no. The blizzard I’m facing is the end-of-term stack of paperwork. Grades are due Wednesday, so I’m full up with whining children who complain about bad grades (usually due to missing assignments) and grovel for makeup work. As I like to tell them, “There’s not enough extra credit in the world to make up for credit credit you didn’t bother to get in the first place.”

I’d feel sorrier for them if a more hard-line stance didn’t help. Just today, I got a Facebook post from a former student. She’s adjusting well to school and has an A in her college English class thanks to her “mean” teacher. It came at exactly the right time.

Now, an evening with friends, and a weekend of grading. Reality bites.