Triage: Stop the bleeding!

Me: I'm not gonna make it. I can't get this all done. There is no way. I'm probably gonna die.

Shulamith: You say that every semester.

Me: No, this is different.

Shulamith: You say that too.

Me: NO!! This time is totally different!

And it has been. The picture above is my desk in my home office, where I work most days. This revolving triage list is designed to prioritize the most urgent things I should be doing at every moment. With two weeks remaining in the semester, only in the past couple days have I felt confident that I will, indeed, finish it alive. Just before the semester began, I accepted a one-year, temporary, full-time position at SLCC. While I suspended teaching at UVU (with the promise from them that I can return next fall), I kept my three U. of Utah classes for two reasons. First, my new position at SLCC is a temporary, one-year contract. I have zero guarantee that it will renew in the fall, and it has nothing to do with me or my qualifications or performance, but solely with department needs and student enrollment. We have two full-time faculty on sabbatical this year, and they will return in the fall. There is no way to know how that could affect my temporary position. Second, the U. of Utah pays head and shoulders better than the other two schools. It's hard to turn down that kind of income.

It's been wild ride these past 3.5 months. Yikes! I have five classes at SLCC and three at the U. So many students. So many emails. So many essays! Plus the department meetings and tasks that are required in a full-time position. I will have a full month off beginning Dec 5th, before the chaos starts all over again, and I am crazy excited! I'm gonna play so hard, hurkle-durkle in my bed and binge TV, read every single thing that is not a college essay, take naps, walk miles and miles, and not even log onto Canvas or Outlook! I will sleep. So much sleep, uninterrupted by anxiety dreams about ridiculous stuff I'm convinced I was supposed to do and didn't. Once I even dreamed that I was supposed to teach one of my classes a dance routine but forgot. 

My break is still two weeks out...

Meanwhile, I'll keep on keepin' on. A few things have kept me almost sane, and I'll cling to those right till the end. Most significantly, my commitment to practicing self care. That means eating well, maintaining at least a minimal social life, and exercising. I'm blessed to have my best friend just out my back door and left 100 steps; two of my sons, plus bonus kid Amanda, 5-7 minutes away, another son in downtown SLC; and Emily up in Sandy. All these guys have kept me going, and I'm so grateful to each of them in different ways. Finally, through it all, I've stayed dedicated to regular exercise: 10,000+ steps a day, strength-training 4-5 days a week, including one morning a week at Courtney's 6:00 a.m. circuit class. I really believe exercise has made all the difference.

What has suffered most and what I've missed most notably is my regular blogging. It's more than just a hobby; for me, writing is therapy. Since the semester began, I've written only six blog posts, four on itslegs and two on my church blog. That is positively pathetic, considering how prolific the blog typically is. But something had to give, and that was it. 

Other than my birthday and General Conference, I missed the events of October altogether, so I'll be writing about those in a second post later today or tomorrow. I'm taking a tiny break to catch up before all the final writing projects start pouring in. 

So look for a new itslegs post right on top of this one! Hooray!