Overwhelmed
Last January I resolved to start writing more frequently. I have kept a journal since I was seven years old, but last year I had not been writing in it as often as I had in the past. I was also looking for a project that would keep me busy, as I am happier when I have something to do with myself. It took a while, but at the beginning of August I started this blog and began writing in it regularly.
The first hurdle that I encountered in my journey as a blogger was to resume my full-time job. As a teacher, I have my summers off, and I found it very easy to find time to complete projects and write while I was not working. I was not sure how it would much I would be able to do while working full time as a teacher. As many of you might know, teachers work a lot more than forty hours a week, or at least I work more than forty hours a week. As it turned out, I was able to continue my blog with even more consistency than I had started with. The work week gave me structure, and I found that I was disciplined enough to do what I needed to do when I had the time.
Things were going well until last week. On November 5, 2012, the winter sports’ season began. That is a problem because I am an assistant varsity swim coach at the school where I teach. Now, I have practice from 3:30 until 5:30 every weekday and two hours on Saturday morning. I do not get home until 6:00 p.m. at the earliest and when I do get home I am more tired than normal. I am also the yearbook editor at the school and on November 5th I began to receive all of the pieces that the seniors are submitting to be published by their pictures. Last week, I was able to publish three posts as usual, but I felt a great deal more stressed than before, and I did not get any cleaning done at all.
On Saturday, I went to practice in the morning, and then attended my students’ field hockey game. When I arrived home, I was finally able to clean my house, which desperately needed it. And I needed it too, because having a messy house causes me a great deal of anxiety. I was not able to work on anything else that day.
Saturday morning, I also received an email from the Community Service Director at my school asking for volunteers to go down to Brooklyn on Sunday to help with the relief effort for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. I would have loved to have a relaxing day at the house to get more work done and write, but I knew that it was important for me to go. I am so glad that I did. Seeing the effects of the storm made me even more grateful for all that I have been blessed with. It put my petty problems into perspective. I may write more about what I saw in Brooklyn and Staten Island someday, but I am still processing it. I know that I will go back in the upcoming months to do more. There is such a need for volunteers in the disaster areas, and it is important for us to do what we can to help those less fortunate than ourselves.
This week, I am trying to get all of my grades ready for the end of the trimester at the end of the week. My father is coming to visit from Oklahoma on Wednesday. My husband and I are flying to Chicago on Friday to attend his friend’s wedding and will be gone all weekend. Next week is Thanksgiving, and we will be traveling to Ithaca, NY to visit my brother and his wife. After that, I will have four frantic weeks of school and swimming practices and meets before leaving for Venezuela for my host sister’s wedding and Christmas with the host family that I lived with from 1992-1993.
Through all of that, I hope to continue to write. I have enjoyed creating this blog, and I have met some amazing people. It means a great deal to me when I hear from somebody that they learned something from one of my posts or that they enjoy the blog. I am NOT going to give up, but I hope you will understand if I do not write as frequently for a couple of months. Please, keep in touch, and let me know what you are up to.
Happy Homemaking!
I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com
Loved this, Jessica! So funny (and very timely) that you wrote this, as I’m working on a similar post myself. There’s so much going on that finding the time to blog becomes ‘work’ and somewhat stressful and I’m sure you’re like me …. you want it to be a creative, fun outlet. So I totally understand and YES, you have BEEN busy. Good for you. I do think it’s better to LIVE your life and be in the moment. So just let it happen and don’t worry about the rest.
My sincere thanks for helping out with the relief efforts. As someone who knows the hardships you experience after a storm like that (I went through Rita and Ike. They both came after Katrina) I appreciate you giving your time. Nobody knows the devastation these storms cause and the mental stress and anxiety one endures after… unless you’ve been through it. It’s heartbreaking to see your city destroyed and your friends homeless. I can relate! You are a kind and generous person!
Have fun and enjoy your holidays and family!
Thank you Stacey. It is so true that we must not forget to LIVE our lives. I have enjoyed keeping the blog. In fact, it has motivated me to do a lot of things in the time that I may have otherwise spent doing less productive things. However, I cannot allow it to drive me crazy or take precedence over more important things. The Hurricane Sandy relief work is definitely more important right now. I will continue to go down there, and I am not going to quit the blog completely. Everything in moderation. 🙂
I have bouts of being “good” at being consistent with posts and then other times when I feel too overwhelmed/tired/busy to work on projects and blog about them. I always remember to remind myself that blogging and working on our house is supposed to be a fun hobby, a hobby that sometimes has to take a backseat to work/life!
So true, and so hard to remember sometimes.