Being Tired

Good morning, God, and thanks for this new day in our lives!  We're in our ninth week of the semester, which means that we're getting closer to the end, so my extreme busyness is coming close to an end finally. There are still almost two months to go, but with significant breaks on the horizon, it definitely looks doable.  It's been a very busy semester, but it's also been very enjoyable.

I thank you for the chance to work hard for a season in order to make it possible to take time off later. This seems to be how I function best--work really hard for a time, then have some down time. It's a way of life that I enjoy, of course, or I wouldn't be doing it, and I'm glad that I have the chance again to do things this way. Who knows what the future will bring? I'm going to enjoy this now.

And I am enjoying the classes, though I do find myself getting tired. I think that a large part of it may have to do with the works that we're reading--I don't enjoy the particular book that we're on, and I wish I didn't have to lead discussions on it. It wears me out. But that's part of life, isn't it? And soon we'll move on to better and more interesting and not-so-violent works that will make class much more enjoyable.

I guess that this is just a rambling note, rather than something specific, but that's okay. It's very early in the morning and my brain is kind of scattered this morning, so life will go on. Not everything has to be focused strongly, does it?

In any case, thanks again for the day and the opportunity to work with some very special young people!

A response:

You're very welcome--I hope that you enjoy this day. And you're right: not everything needs to be focused strongly. Sometimes the best thing that we can do is just put out our thoughts just as they come to us, without trying to put them in any sort of order or category. When you can do that, you can often clear the distressing thoughts from your mind--the mere act of expressing them gets them out of there, making room for more productive and positive thoughts.

It's good that you know about your own rhythms and abilities, otherwise the difficult times would be harder to handle. When you know, though, that you will have down time after the busy time for recovery, the busy time isn't as draining. You have this time now for the learning and the teaching that you can do during it, so it's important that you make the most of it while it's here--for your sake and for the sake of your students. Long breaks for teachers are very important at the ends of semesters and school years, for the rest that they provide is really the only thing that makes such an intense job possible. Everyone has different tolerance levels, of course, but because teaching is a job with such a strong need for constant giving, it's a job that drains energy rather regularly.

Enjoy the rest of the semester. You have some really good students who have a lot to give to the world in the future, and part of what they will have to give will come from what they do in college, and part of what they get from college will come from you. So don't give up, and don't give less than you can--you have recovery time ahead.