wading into the maelstrom

Before the holidays, there were so many things going on I felt breathless. I thought, Let's just get through this, and then everything will settle down.

I was wrong. It's great to have cleared the decks of all the holiday stuff -- they were delightful, glad they're over -- but looking ahead, there's just as much to do, because somehow or other I've ended up with three jobs.

The oldest "job" is my column, which has been neglected lately. December's deadline for the January issue blew right by me, and I never did write a column last month. There were just too many real-world commitments, complicated by the illnesses of various children, and I wasn't disciplined enough to churn out a column. I have guilt, but not all that much, considering the pittance each column earns me.

The second job is the ThyCa facilitating business. The workshop planning continues apace, with letters and phone calls and all sorts of arrangements to make. These things seem much more like "real" work to me, rather than the goofing around in the kitchen and at the keyboard that the column often is (at least in the creative phase; I can recognize that the finished product is something to be proud of). Because this work feels more "real" it is tremendously satisfying. But before I can get too cocky about my abilities here an email will trickle in from a new patient with questions I have no idea how to answer -- yikes! I'm glad I'm the junior co-facilitator.

The third job will become a reality shortly; I will finally be making a little money when I start substitute teaching over at the kids' school. I didn't expect to be brought on as an employee, but I will be. I like that they'll take care of withholding and Social Security and all that. I'm not terrified -- yet. When my start date (looking like Jan 16 now, but may be sooner) draws closer, I will probably be paralyzed with fear. I've never done anything like this before. What an adventure!

Further adventures await me this week, as DH heads back to CT tomorrow for his grandmother's funeral. He'll be away until Sunday, leaving me to hold down the fort with the kiddos. (sigh) There was no point in all of us going, and it's right for him to be there. It's weird to be so conflicted: I want him to go, but I want him to stay here, too.

For now, the kids are all (finally) healthy, and we're getting back into the school groove. How weird to think that I'll be in the school groove soon, too.