I have been playing catch up all evening, communicating with the Story Circle Network online teachers about the upcoming term and responding to reading comments and writing submissions from my current online flash fiction/flash memoir class. This week has been a whirlwind of activity centered around students, family and church. I had two solid days of back-to-back students immediately upon returning from Texas, one and a half babysitting days for Sarah and Gregorio since they are moving, a cooking afternoon for Rachael’s birthday celebration and then literally 7 hours spent at the church on Saturday between the Breakfast Club (our homeless feeding program), a discernment committee meeting for a young man pursuing the priesthood, and then serving as an acolyte at the Vigil mass. Ray and I returned to church this morning where we were there for another 2 ½ hours because, besides attending the early mass, Ray had promised our sexton that he would help set up for coffee hour since he (our sexton) is on vacation. I helped too, of course, so we could work faster.
I returned home after church and stumbled upstairs for a two-hour nap. Afterward, I settled into my chair and watched several news programs (so I won’t be completely out of touch with the world) and then had an hour of catch up on work. After that, I headed to the kitchen to make dinner, which was chicken, yams, baked potatoes and salad. I’ve been back in my chair for several hours now working towards getting slightly ahead of where I need to be with my class. The good news is that I have almost succeeded, and tomorrow I will quickly get up-to-date. Plus, Monday and Tuesday are eBay days, which means I am focused on a very calm and clear task that is restful.
My life is always full of activity, but this past week was even more so. Every time I go out-of-town, I find that it takes me several days to get everything back into a routine. I juggle lots of different activities and sometimes they all press down at once. This past week was one of those times.
Now I am done for the evening and heading upstairs. I hope to watch just a bit of television to wind down before going to sleep. I read that taking a bath before bedtime “washes away the stresses of the day.” Since this is my habit anyway – that nightly bath – then I will certainly be doing that as soon as I head upstairs. I like the visual of washing away the stress. That brings comfort.
I hope you have had a restful weekend and are ready for the upcoming week.
I will be checking back in tomorrow. Until then, I wish you sweet dreams and a happy Monday.
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