Five Things that Don't Suck, Rainy Saturday Edition

1. getting ALL the grading done so I can relax and enjoy Sunday*
2. a warm, comfy hoodie
3. dogs who don't want to tromp around in the rain all day
4. putting the last of the Thanksgiving whipped cream into your coffee**
5. getting unexpected messages from old friends

*theoretical but very possible
**don't judge. I could have just shot it straight into my mouth instead, but I'm a lady.

Five Things that Don't Suck, Last Day of Classes Edition

1. easy parking on campus
2. how cheerful everyone is
3. the last department meeting of 2014
4. knowing how close I am to being a full-time poet again for a few weeks
5. being able to start to think about Christmas

Five Things that Don't Suck, Off Campus with No Grading Edition

1. realizing that my Thursdays are once again grading-free*
2. cheerfully ignoring the first-year research papers that will be filling my bag at 9:30 tomorrow morning
3. focusing on the whole no-grading-today thing
4. making Christmas plans
5. egg nog**

*until February anyway
**just a little

Five Things that Don't Suck, Distracted Morning Edition

1. not actually burning the house down by putting an insulated lunch bag down on a still-hot burner
2. owning a tote bag I can use to carry my lunch today
3. the fact that it's fall, so the heater will be on in my office, thus helping to keep my thermos of soup warm until lunch
4. the fact that the bag was empty and I didn't also ruin one of our lunches
5. buying a snazzy new insulated lunch bag

Five Things that Don't Suck, Hot Breakfast Edition

1. oatmeal
2. applesauce
3. almonds
4. cinnamon
5. spoons

Five Things that Don't Suck, Last Week of Classes Edition

1. sending my students forth into a better, brighter world, one in which they are still forever my students
2. the way the library begins to smell like stale Chinese food and desperation as we approach finals week
3. being reasonably sure the light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train*
4. being aware that overconfidence kills
5. coffee

Five Things that Don't Suck, I'm Getting Older, Too Edition

1. getting an email from your nephew in which he addresses you and your mother (his grandmother) as "Hey Guys!"
2. seeing some bees out on cleansing flights this morning*
3. sleeping as late as I want without anybody giving me a hard time about it**
4. comfortable shoes
5. realizing that the kids' table is still the kids' table, no matter how tall we've become

*if they're not dead, they're getting older. Don't pretend this doesn't fit with the theme. You know it does.
**no one's gonna give me a hard time about the nap I'll be taking later, either