must ... breath ... deeply

must ... not .... panic

Until today my to-do list for the next month looked like this:

• catch up on course work I am behind on
• complete assignment for main course
• do preparation for summer school
• do assignments for summer school
• draft poster presentation for summers chool
• go to summer school
  
• write 1 long report for work
• write 3 short reports for work
• spend several days working away
• do stuff with O (eg swimming, bike rides, theatre)
• spend a couple of hours a week on community committments
• lose several stone
• try to remember to do shopping, wash clothes etc

... the thought of all of which was starting to stress me out but I thought no, I can manage this if I get myself organised, it is do-able. And then today, I find out that I have to add

• gut house from top to bottom (or move)

R is graduating this summer after all. I had convinced myself that it wouldn't be until the winter now, because the assessment boycott meant that his external examiners hadn't looked at his revised thesis. But now the dispute is settled and the examiners have examined and he is going to graduate on July 12. Which I should be happy about, as it's been 5 years of hard work for him to get to this. Instead I have been in floods of tears at the prospect of his parents coming to visit in less than a month.

We don't actually know if they are coming yet. Although it's unlikely they would want to stay at home for the traditional cultural events, they are going to forn parts the week after so maybe they might not come. It sounds horrible to say it but I hope they don't, I do not need the hassle. R suggested we pay to put them up in a hotel, which sounds a terrible thing to do, but would be better than them staying here, at least we wouldn't have to make the bedrooms fit for parental habitation.

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