Sometimes I Feel Like a Piece of Bologna

Saturday, March 22, 2008

A Busy Month!



Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted in a month! Then again, I guess I can. It’s been an amazingly busy month. At the end of February, I spoke at a conference, which of course meant lots of prep time. Two weeks later, in early March, I spoke t another conference on entirely different topics--which of course meant more prep. Five days later, I attended yet another conference, this time for five days. I returned home Tuesday and my son and DIL arrived about 2:30 this morning. Yesterday and today have been preparation for Easter. I’m having 14 for dinner.

In the midst of all of this, I had a final and a term paper due for my class. Although they weren’t due until yesterday, I knew that if I didn’t fit them into the moments of the month, I’d be late. So I did the final (take home) between the first two conferences and mailed it on the way to the second one. I did the term paper between conferences two and three (although I had been doing the research all quarter). I mailed it on the way to conference number three.

I learned a couple of things, and I guess I’d file this under aging. First, I had to give up my usual perfectionism. Especially with school, I had to keep reminding myself, “I’m not in this for the grade…. I’m not in this for the grade….” Of course, it isn’t just the grade. I love the work and would read dozens more books than required, which I did last quarter, just for the fun of it. This quarter I didn’t have that luxury, and it was good for me to meet the requirement and stop.

The other thing I learned was that I couldn’t think about the crazy month or I’d go crazy. So I learned to “do the next thing.” When I was prepping for a conference, that’s what I was doing. When I was working on school, that’s what I was doing. Being the queen of multi-tasking, that was hard. But it was ever so effective! I was able to do it all--well, I think—without stressing. I simply did the next thing. And I got it all done. This weekend is about family and friends, and I’m enjoying the cooking and decorating. Tuesday I leave for Mom’s again, but I won’t have to think about that until Monday.

I wish each of you a blessed Easter. As Christians, we celebrate this high holy day of our year. We are grateful for Jesus, and delighted to stop and contemplate his work in our lives. I hope you enjoy your family and friends, and give God a shout-out too. Blessings!

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