How are you coping with half term in the middle of semester?

[dodi1978]

Just a moan really - teaching and research active academic in social sciences. DS9, DS6. Husband with equally stressful job. DS6 has light weight additional needs which make it difficult for us to just book a holiday club for him for a few days. The two schools (one junior, one infant) with lots of sibling crossover have decided to not match their inset days meaning we have got not one week, but one week three days to cover.

Friday (inset for DS9): worked from home in the morning, picked DS6 up directly from school rather than his after school club.
Monday: worked from home in the morning. Walk / trip out with both in the afternoon. Worked till midnight to catch up / go ahead (working on grant application at the moment)
Tuesday: DH took day off with the kids. Had loooong day in the office (8am to 10pm) as was teaching. Tbh, don't really mind these long evenings - am usually really productive as I know I am not interrupted any more and this time managed to get a good draft of the grant application done.
Wednesday: spent all day in London - trip to embassy to sort out DS6 EU passport, followed by Tower & Dinner. Home at 8. Caught up with e-mails till 11.
Thursday: 'worked' from home in the morning. DCs taking living room apart and tearing each other to shreds. Flying changeover with DH at lunchtime - him WFH in the afternoon, me in the office. Just tidied up the mess that is the house and admired DS9's rather impressive bruise from brotherly fighting.
Friday (planned): both WFH with kids at home, taking turns in bedroom office for meetings
next Monday (planned): me WFH till about 1pm, then lunch with DS6 and pick up big brother from school to get ready for Halloween. Trick or treating in evening
next Tuesday: DH another day off

I hope I am not the only one who finds half term utterly exhausting... work just doesn't stop. In their endless wisdom, my place put their once annual deadline for application for promotion just after the February half term. I complained and it was moved, but my name is probably forever marked :-)!

I’m so glad half term is over, feel awful for saying that but it’s been very stressful ☹️ luckily it’s coincided with our reading week, so I’ve taken one days holiday, but then another day was a big staff meeting so that’s two working days lost that I just can’t afford. Lots of late nights.
Many outside academia just look at you in disbelief when you explain that work doesn’t actually go anywhere/ to anyone else when you take holiday, and that more and more actually accrues. And that often it’s easier and less stressful to take holidays but actually also do a couple of hours a day to keep on top of it.

its so warped……

the only holidays I look forward to each year are Xmas, where the institution actually shuts down and you can legitimately be out of office. There’s absolutely no respite or downtime over the summer any more in my experience. If I take more than a block of one week it’s just carnage.

solidarity

@AlwaysColdHands Yes, solidarity indeed! And yes, have the same issues with explaining to people that we don't just have time 'off'. Equally in the summer: 'Oh, you are teaching, it's nice that you've got the summer off'.

If just.... 😬

I am really lucky in that I still get a bit calm time in the summer, and can generally take three weeks at Christmas, too (though I tend to keep checking my e-mails even on days off... ). However, in the future my calm time will depend on getting childcare for the younger one, which is not easy!

No reading week here by the way! We aren't even allowed to take leave during term time, even when not teaching. Have been told by my HoS to just do it unofficially during half term and save my leave, so that's what I am doing!

Two more days to go next week🙄

No reading week here. Unfortunately also coupled with grandparents being very poorly so the two days they kindly offered to look after my child had to be rejuggled. Two booked days of leave and one day of childcare with another mum (did a swap). I was allowed to teach online for 4 hours one morning as no one else to cover and too late to rebook holiday club etc after grandparents taken ill. I have been working until midnight / early hours to complete final stages of a research project and deal with emails. At our University this is also the week we are supposed to meet all personal tutees, I have 25 of them so just trying to squeeze them in as and when. I am absolutely exhausted. I am developing a serious frustration with the inset days too! Roll on Christmas!