Monday, September 15, 2008

Sleeping with Bread: Keeping Busy

I can't believe this but I am actually going to attempt to do my weekly bread baking in the wee hours of the morning. I am having a bout of insomnia, which is such a joy, but I thought I would at least try to be productive... Of course, I think part of the reason I am having insomnia is because I did not get any substantial amount of homework done this weekend and am now facing the week with quite a bit of work to make up.

If this doesn't make sense, you will at least understand it is due to sleep deprivation!

In the last week, when have I felt the most alive?

When I started school last semester, I was so freaked out about doing well and feeling insecure about how I could do after such a long absence from academia that I really cut back from all extra activities, including finding time with friends, etc. Being the completely unstructured and undisciplined person that I am, I didn't really apply that extra time to studying. I mostly spent if fretting about studying and avoiding studying. That was just a little too isolating for this extrovert and so this semester I decided to try to stay in the world around me.

To that end, I threw myself into Marley's class this week. I think I ended up doing something there almost every day. I also had a chance to go out to lunch with one of the other moms from the class. And... I even helped babysit for the mom's group at our church.

It felt good to spend time with people, to hang out, to help out. I definitely felt most alive when I was keeping busy this week.

However...

In the last week, when did I feel most drained of life?

Well, after keeping so busy, I have to admit I was exhausted. Over a year of not exercising, not eating well, and not sleeping all that well have taken their toll. Complicating matters was that Paul was out of town on an "over the weekend" trip. By the time he got home last Wednesday, I was ready to pass the parenting baton to him.

I think I will need to be careful to balance the keeping busy in the world with making sure I am rested.

**************************

Please check out other Sleeping with Bread posts here.

6 comments:

Tara Lamont said...

I too understand needing to get out there and be a part of life. But sometimes I get a little too out there and am soooo tired on Monday morning.

Here's to finding a balance.
Tara

Anonymous said...

This is hard. Absolutely.

I barely touched upon the whole "volunteer hours" thing in my post, but I started panicking last week when I took stock of what I am committed to do. Breathe, breathe. It's not really all that much, I hand-picked things that should be a good match for me, but still...I hate making a commitment because I'm afraid I'll flake out and drop the ball.

As to exercise? I have such a hard time realizing that I can't pick up where I left off....six years ago! I started doing a 30 minute tape and wound up with a sore achilles tendon, so I'm getting the message to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n.

Hooray for the opportunity to pass the baton.

Mel said...

Believe it or not, I gave up trying to 'find balance'....I let the Big Guy make the arrangments and to date, He's done a stand up job.

*hugs*

Busy is good for me--the 'rest' gets taken care of. ;-)

Shari said...

When you figure out how to balance it all, let me know. ;-) Actually, I think Mel hit it right on the nose. I've been trying to hand to all over to God every day but I keep snatching it back. :-)

Anonymous said...

Babysat for the mom's group at church? Wow. You DID go all out.

Woman in a Window said...

Hey you. If it took a year + for lack of sleep and poor eating etc to catch up with you...well, I'd say you're doing pretty great.

Thanks for stopping by my way.
erin