Hey!.. Where's my BREAK?

Happy New Year! How was your 'break'? Relaxing, joyful, fun, inspiring? My Christmas break was plagued by studying for exams. While my family enjoyed all the trimmings of a holiday, I was stuck with my nose in books reviewing for end-of-semester exams which are scheduled for next week. This is the first year exams have followed Christmas. I hope it's the last. There's something much more magical about Christmas when the semester is complete prior to the holiday. Studying for exams was not the only thing that took the shine off the Christmas star. With my senior year being a transition year between high school and college, I had scholarship applications to fill out and essays to write. I even had to visit the doctor for a tuberculosis test (required for college admittance)... As I headed back to school today at 6:30 am, dark and freezing, I arrived at my high school and soon discovered the heating system was not working. I returned home at 4:30 pm with a cold nose, sore throat, blue fingers and toes and opened the door to hear my mom say "Is that you? Will you please unload the dishwasher? I have an errand to run" I think I'll take a break and drink a hot cup of cocoa...but that's High School.