The Finals Story
I was enrolled in a writing and graphics class at the University of Baltimore in Spring 2008. The class was tough for me. For the spring semester, I basically completed written and graphics projects for my class and provided basic childcare for my children (5, 10, and 12) — that was it, as I had no time or energy for anything else. I spent many days, nights, and weekends on this class.
The class was already “kicking my butt” when I embarked on preparing for the final evaluation on May 17, 2008. I worked all week to do final revised drafts for 7 projects. The night of May 16 found me as always in front of my computer. I worked all night to finish all projects. At 6 a.m. I grabbed a quick nap. By 8 a.m. I was back at work until I packed up and drove my daughter to her lacrosse game (my husband had our oldest daughter at her volleyball game, so could not do the driving). After dropping my daughter and my 5-year-old son at their grandparents’ house, I drove to my final evaluation. The professors had some positive comments about my written and graphics assignments, but my success in the class was far from secure. I knew that I had done everything to help my grade, if I fell short it was not for want of trying.
The final evaluation ended, but my day was not over. After driving to watch my oldest win her volleyball game, I drove to get my younger children from their grandparents. On a fairly empty road in Gaithersburg, MD, I lost my concentration for a few seconds…probably because I had been up all night…and plowed in to the car in front of me. Minivan versus Mazda Miata…minivan wins. Luckily neither the driver or I were hurt. Also, I did not have my children in the minivan. May 17, 2008 will live in infamy as the day I just did not have it in me to do everything…something had to give. I tried.
