Procrastinating into the home stretch

I was just realizing that my last post was the same as the one I'm about to write – a blatant attempt to procrastinate studying something I feel totally overwhelmed and exhausted by.

Augh! Mockingbird actually CLIMBING up the raspberry canes, claw over claw, as if wrestling its way up the trunk of some monstrous thorny jungle tree – then flapping down onto the patio with a huge ripe raspberry in its beak.

Anyway. I'm taking my stats final on Monday, whether I'm ready or not, and I guess I feel like I'll be mostly ready. Still, I'm having such a hard time just settling down to study. It seems like the requirement to finish this course has been pecking away at my brain for as long as I can remember. I can never really just relax and do something else; every time I have a moment of down time the thought pops into my head: "You should be going over those homework exercises again!"

But I can't study ALL the time. I still have to sleep, eat, interact with other living beings, and sometimes even maybe have a little fun. Plus, there's other stuff that needs to be taken care of eventually, like the bill from the hospital lab from January, which my insurance is supposed to have covered but which has been hung up for almost six months now because of a coding error I'm still trying to get resolved. And wrapping up my billing on a big (for me) freelance project I just finished. And making appointments with people who saw that work, who now want to talk to me about more work – which I'll be glad to have, as soon as I finish this course! Also, making appointments for gyno and mammogram, and finding time to exercise every day, since that's the only thing that keeps my anxiety at a workable level.

Not to mention playing with the puppy, feeding the puppy, training the puppy, taking pictures of the puppy, cleaning up after the puppy, putting her to bed and waking her up, and taking her out and about for the socialization I keep hearing is crucial to her emotional development – and without which she's sure to become a hostile, aggressive, antisocial fear biter who will expose me to untold frustration and heartbreak, not to mention lawsuits and possible financial ruin (assuming I had anything much to lose, which I don't).

Not to mention taking care of the Taterman! He has needs too. He's a very good sport but he really doesn't enjoy the same kind of jumping and biting games that Bea is into. So he needs some private play and walk time at least once or twice a day. And I'm finding I need alone time with her too, for training, because she can't focus on anything but him whenever he's around. And he doesn't always appreciate her particular brand of adoration.

OK, now I'm really just getting ridiculous. Here's what I'm doing next:

1. Take the puppy out to pee and exercise.
2. Start dinner so there's something in progress when Mr. A gets home.
3. Get back to homework.

So yeah, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment, but looking forward to having a HUGE load off my mind by this time Monday afternoon. I can't wait!