At Least I'm Not as Stressed as I Was in Spring '06

I didn't think I'd have time to write this week, but the morning's events conspired to give me a day off. First of all, I overslept and woke up right about the time I usually leave for work. That shouldn't be a huge deal because I'm usually one of the first in the building. When I sleep late, it just means that I have to rush to get ready but I still usually beat most of my colleagues to school. Not today... today I hopped in the shower, got ice cold water for about two seconds, and then no water at all... FROZEN PIPES!

I didn't realize that it got down into the low twenties last night, so I didn't leave a faucet dripping like I usually do... and now I'm sitting around, feeling gross because I can't take a shower, waiting for my pipes to thaw. UGH! What a day this is shaping up to be already...

I really needed the day off, though. This past week has been hectic and things won't slow down at all until the 25th. I have entirely too much on my plate right now, with basketball (which could be very casual but I turned it into a bigger deal than it had to be by scheduling practices), my counseling classes, and teaching all vying for my time.

Every time I start to feel overwhelmed, though, I just think back to the spring of '06. Back then, I was working as the resident director of West Hall, student teaching at Richmond Senior High, and making the drive to Duke to be with Jenni as often as possible... and somehow, I survived that. I was stressed out beyond belief, but God saw me through it.

I felt like a failure much of that last semester of college, and I probably would have had a nervous breakdown if not for Jenni, my mom, and Ms. Clewis (among others) continually assuring me that I was doing the best that I could given the circumstances. I feel like a failure pretty often nowadays as well, but I'm hoping that the big turnaround that I'm working on right now (transitioning from high school teacher --> college student) will improve that.

Trying to stay positive...

• I've just barely started my classes, but they don't seem like they'll be too tough (although I might live to eat those words over the next few months).
• Only two more lesson plans to write, some make-up work to grade, and exam week... then teaching will be a thing of the past.
• Basketball is fun. It has become much more time consuming than I intended, but that's more my fault than anyone else's.