Saturday, October 1, 2011

Busy, busy, busy!

Aleena watching Uncle Curt run his first half marathon.
I sit here writing this as I should be working on a midterm paper that's due in a week and a half.  Seems like a lot of time but not really...not when I don't have any guaranteed working time and have to take advantage of every opportunity available to me.  This past week, I think all of this caught up with me and I ended up taking a sick day.  Yes, I am just a wee bit stressed with everything that I've taken on.  No, I'm not superwoman..not even close.  Actually, typing this reminds me of when I visited my minister when I was in high school.  They used to have clergy come into the school to do some counseling for students.  Wow, have times ever changed.  Imagine the uproar that would cause these days?!  (I went to a public school.)

Anyway, back to the story.  I remember telling our pastor that I was extremely busy and stressed out and had taken on too much.  I really had.  I am starting to see a pattern here in my life.  I seem incapable of relaxing for very long but at least it does happen from time to time.  Ironically, I am often asked about my running as if it's an extra thing I do that stresses me out.  The good news is that running doesn't stress me out..it makes me feel better.  This is why I am somewhat unhappy right now as I've got a nagging injury that I am making myself finally listen to.  It's time to rest now that my half marathon is over before I cause any permanent damage.

I realized the other day that I may have an addiction to being busy because I've stopped telling people everything I've taken on.  I'm actually embarrassed to admit it.  For example, how many people know I have helped coach cross country running at school this year?  I doubt anyone knew until I got sick and couldn't take the kids to a meet thereby canceling the event for our school.  Gotta love how the one extracurricular/volunteer aspect of my job made me feel the most guilty about going home sick.  And how many people know that I'm now a school rep for the RPSTA (RPS Teachers Association)?  I figure that if I don't like how some things are going in education right now, it's better to take action than complain.  This is my way of getting involved.

Of course, there's also my Masters class and it mostly just stresses me out because I am never sure when I'll have the time to work on the readings and assignments.  More good news though.  I enjoy taking my Masters as odd as that may sound.  It's so relevant to my teaching and I find it fascinating.  For example, I have 15 stories to correct next week and I am going to write a paper comparing a couple journal articles on giving written feedback for ESL students' writing.  I find it fascinating to learn what the research in the field is.  When you read a text or teaching guide, you get one perspective.  When you read a bunch of journal articles, you learn many sides of the story and get a broader perspective on a topic.

Of course, between all of this craziness, there are my two lovely children with contagious smiles.  They keep me smiling too.  They also remind me about what's really important everyday and that helps keep perspective on everything else.

5 comments:

  1. I, too, am a busyholic.

    Fortunately, recognition and acceptance are the first step on the road to recovery. ;)

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  2. Awww..thanks for commenting on my post!

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  3. I used to be a busyaholic before our daughter was born. I wanted to make sure I could give our unborn child the ultimate attention deserved, so I scaled back just before her birth. It was not until I stopped doing so many things that I realized how much time I spent volunteering, or on classwork, or on church activities, or just on stuff. I had a terrific year "off" for maternity leave. I made play dough with my dUghter, she baked, she painted, she play-dated, we swam a few times a week b/c she loves the water. I did things for her and our family and I loved it. Most of our extended family lives out of town so I made sure they saw her on a regular basis by driving to visit. Wait -- did I really scale back? I didn't spend enough time watching TV or surfing FB.

    And now, for me, the rat race begins tomorrow when I return to the office and my Monday to Friday job. I love my job and many of the people in my office. Our daughter is very social and thriving in her day home so I feel that back to work is a really good choice right now. But do we have to be back to busyness?

    Yeah, probably! We want to continue taking her swimming, I want to continue working out at the gym, there are new university classes and programs that interest me so i need to take a class again, i have already starting volunteering with Girl Guides of Canada and have also just agreed to lead a project at our church. I won't be able to take our daughter to nursery rhyme time at the library but I will be able to sing to her and read and take her to the library to explore new books on her own.

    And I need to do these things in the evening hours after a work day? Hmmmm. That's when we socialize with friends and family, spend hours in front of the television watching CFL football, travel ... We want to give our daughter siblings so I imagine the day to day only gets busier with more little feet running around.

    For today, I am going to wrap the dolly of my early-bird one-year-old in a blanket, play telephone with my daughter and dolly, and enjoy a cup of tea. The laundry and volunteering and classes and .... Will be there tomorrow and today I think we should just enjoy a family day!

    I think it comes hand in hand with working out of the home.

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  4. Hmmm ... Not sure how that last line got there. I was intending to end with the "family day" paragraph! Happy Sunday, day of rest, to all the mommies out there.

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  5. Thanks for commenting Laura. Back to work tomorrow already? That year went by quickly! Good luck to you. I think you'll enjoy being back at work too.

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