Summer To-Do List

Here's to the three reasons I became a schoolteacher: June, July, and August. I have been enjoying my vacation so far, but I admit that I haven't done much that's productive. So I have given myself a list of things to accomplish over the summer. (There are only so many hours I need to spend anyway surfing the Net and playing computer games, and as much as I love Netflix, I can't spend all day watching movies.) Of course there's always the home maintenance and yardwork, but that's pretty constant and year-round, so I won't count that. Nor will I count the 'Honey-do' items that Jennifer gives me from time to time. So following is a (partial) list of things I plan to do while on break.

--Practice musical instruments: piano, mandolin, and guitar

--Learn how to operate the sequencer on my synthesizer

--Record songs that I've written, after learning to use the sequencer

--Practice foreign languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish (my French is rusty but OK, and my Spanish and German are at least a basic understanding--when we take that trip to Europe, even a little language goes a long way, so I want to keep them in my head)

--Read at least two classic novels and two modern ones (I read fairly fast, but the one I'm on now, Vanity Fair, is pretty long and may take a while)

With proper time management, this should not be too hard to do. I would love to go back to school in the fall with the satisfaction that I didn't just blow my summer vacation but actually accomplished something meaningful.