The Little DRE That Could...

Dorrie sent me a sweet, loving reminder today to keep blogging.  This one's for you, babe! Dorrie is my soul mate (her hubby might disagree), my sister from another mister, and my best friend. I love her in a way I cannot articulate. We've known each other since freshman year of college and I could write a whole blog post about our friendship. Maybe I'll do that soon. She and I have very different jobs, but both ridiculously stressful and time consuming. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for me and I'm still in the midst of it. I'm having a stressful day so maybe stopping for a few minutes in the midst of it is a good thing.


My doctor is getting on my case to work less than 10 hours/day and only 5 days/week. I would LOVE to do that. The problem? I don't know how to do that and get my job done. To do my job WELL would require 2 full-time catechetical people and 1 full-time administrative person. Instead, it's me and a part-time administrative person (who is amazing, but is human like me).

Sunday, I was at church 13 hours straight. I took a 15 minute lunch break. I did have an hour and a half down time starting around 3, but I was afraid if I went home, I would fall asleep and miss Mass and my evening meetings. I cat napped at my desk.

Monday, I got here at 8:30 and had to teach first thing. I was booked with teaching sessions and meetings through early afternoon. Around 2 I realized I was at my limit. I went home for 4 hours. I did laundry and took a nap. I came back to work for my evening meetings and was at church until 9.

Tuesday, I started my day at the grocery store since I had nothing to each for lunches this week. I got to work around 9 and worked straight through to 9 pm. Several crises had occurred during class time so I tossed and turned all night.

Wednesday, I rolled in around 10, exhausted from the night before. I spent most of the day calling and emailing parents trying to get to the bottom of some issues. Fun. I left work at 6 (only because I "donated" my office to be used for youth minister interviews since every other meeting space on campus was booked), but then spent an hour and a half supply shopping before going home. I crashed at 9.

This morning, I was at the grocery store first thing getting snacks for a meeting I was hosting. I taught for half an hour while my assistant played hostess to local DREs. Our meeting was supposed to last 2 1/2 hours, but the quick "check-in" portion became a gripe fest. Twenty-five minutes before we were set to adjourn, I had yet to give my check-in and we had gotten to none of our business. Bless me, Father for I have sinned. I told a lie to the DREs. The room we were using was not booked for a 1 pm meeting, but I had to get them out of there. We had run 45 minutes long, I had yet to have lunch, and I was falling asleep as well as starving.

Tonight I plan to work late to get some projects done while I have access to my atria. There are still many Catechesis of the Good Shepherd materials to make and I need to work out some sort of system for covering our shelves when the students aren't present. Too many people are getting into our space and messing with our items. It's devastating.

This weekend is Confirmation so I'll be busy all weekend. I anticipate taking all/most of Monday off. It will be my first day off in 8 days. I haven't had two days off in a given week in over a month.

How do I function?I try to squeeze in some down time- 5 minutes of candy crush or an online episode of a favorite sitcom during dinner at my desk. During the week, our staff has lunch together from noon to one.

Friends? Family? HA. The stacks of invites to Beloved events, alumnae activities for my college, and other things go un-returned. I don't have close friends in my immediate vicinity, but I live in a very large metro area. I have tons of friends and the majority of my cousins only an hour or so away. One of my high school best friends moved to a local suburb a few weeks ago and I have yet to see her. By the time I get off work, I am too tired to make plans to see anyone. I saw people this summer. I hope they're all still alive in June.

I long for having a life again. When I did similar work at a smaller parish, I had a life. I played euchre one night/week, socialized with friends on a regular basis and raised a family. My life has lost all balance. I have used the divorce as an excuse for being married to my job- no husband, no stepkid, no dog... guess I don't need a life. I want to date again. I have found card/board game groups here but none meet on nights that fit my schedule. I am too busy to organize my own. I am hoping our parish organizes a young adult group soon. It's something we've been working on. Sadly, that's my only hope for meeting people in this area. And I won't be a young adult that much longer. :D

I love what I do. I love who I do it with and who I do it for.  If not for that, I would have given up a long time ago. I need to bring balance back into my life. It won't be easy, but it's the only way I can make it uphill. And that is the story of the little DRE that could. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.