they have no idea

I got an email today from one of my undergrad students. It began:

Hey Mrs.Pearson,

I hope your weekend is going well and that you are able to enjoy the sun
while I have to sit here and write this paper inside. hahah.

What in the world do they think graduate students DO? This isn't the first comment of its kind, and I only wish they had half a clue. I'd like to switch places with them for, say, 48 hours and see how they fare. This guy is writing a 4 page paper for me, while I have two seminar papers (20+ pages each) AND a Master's thesis (35 pgs) to hand in over the next month-- not to mention a 4 year old, a husband, an awful flu bug (yes, I caught it from Abby), stacks of papers to grade, classes to teach, research to do-- I could go on! I wonder if my students actually think I'll feel sorry for them for having to stay in on a weekend to write a short paper. Crazy thing is I realize there are people whose lives are even more challenging than mine (and much less full of happiness).

OK, done ranting. Back to work.