Stop the ride; I want to get off

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little like Dorothy when she’s watching in horror the hourglass as all the sand is running out. Isn't there a different movie where the character is actually stuck in the glass getting suffocated by the sand? Or an enchanted ferris wheel that keeps spinning faster and never stops? The last week has been like that.

The previous month was one long vacation, in between my husby coming home, his family visiting, and my parents visiting, but all of a sudden we are back on real time, and stuff is piling up as I sit here writing a blog post. (and reading other people’s posts.)


I don't know how life gets so busy. One minute I’m wondering what to do with myself while the kids are in school – besides write a blog and read other people’s. And the next minute I’m crying about how I’ve got so much to do that I don’t have time for what I want to do – write and read blogs.


But yes, I do know how this happens – I open my mouth. First I volunteered to teach Latin at the elementary school because the principal told me she wanted to offer Latin, but they couldn’t afford to buy Rosetta Stone, and the public school had ordered it but it hadn’t come in. So I volunteered to teach it, based on my vast experience of teaching Latina Christiana to our homeschool co-op in Virginia for a couple of years. At least I know more about Latin than most 4th -6th graders. And I love it. (Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t have studied something more rigorous like a language rather than something so elusive like literature. I like right or wrong answers and word puzzles.)


Then after listening to the older kids’ school principal, football coach, PTA president, and dean of students cry for volunteers at various parent meetings at the high school, I decided to offer to substitute for free. I like doing it, and really it pays so little that it isn’t worth the trouble of filing the taxes. So now I’m getting a lot more calls to sub. But I enjoy it – no prep work, and usually the classes I’m watching have to do a worksheet or watch a movie, so I can get a little reading done. The drawbacks are having to rush around in the mornings and find other time to grocery shop and exercise.


Fortunately, I got turned down for a real job, although at the time I found out I felt like crying. While my in-laws were here, I got a call from our priest telling me about a job opportunity. The military chapel was in need of a pastoral coordinator, someone to write the bulletin, organize CCD and schedule lectors and ministers. While at most parishes, this would be a volunteer position or split between a secretary and a DRE, the government has money set aside to pay a contractor for this job. It offered flexible hours, a good amount of money for the amount of work, and the pleasure of working for the church. The only real drawback was that we would have had to change parishes because Sunday morning CCD was part of the deal. I met with the priest at the base chapel and picked up the paperwork, even though I debated taking on the responsibility. Since we had company, I told him I would get back to him after the long weekend. Once I had talked myself into it, I called him back the next Tuesday to tell him I had decided to apply, and had even filled out the online application to register as a government contractor.


Alas, someone else, young and ambitious, newly arrived on base, had showed up and seemed excited, rather than hesitant, about the job, so the priest asked me to hold onto my application. I mourned the rest of the afternoon.

But today, I am thankful to that young and eager person. I am sure the pastoral coordinator job would have taken more space in my brain than I have room for. As it is I have a to-do list that keeps growing, and I’m forgetting things. Like yesterday, I forgot that I told a friend that I would meet her at the beach to learn how to paddle board. She had asked me about it last week, just before my parents arrived, and in the flurry of their visit, I failed to write it down. In the meantime I agreed to sub, although I was kicking myself when she called me late the night before to see if we were still on. I told her to let me know the next time she goes. Hopefully someday I’ll find time to write about the glories of learning to paddle board.