Holidays are Over and So, Back to Work

I've really enjoyed having the entire month of August off. Not that I have been lying on the couch and eating bonbons that whole time - I've been quite busy and the time has flown by. But if not quite Sabbath, it was truly a time to be focused on what I needed to focus upon without many other claims on my time, and that was sweet relief.

I got to travel, see friends, do research, move my mom and work on my own abode, and be very flexible about getting up and getting dressed and out of the house. There were the occasional meetings, emails and phone calls that were "work related" (all of which were welcome and easy to deal with), but on the whole, I was able to do what I needed to do (and a fair amount of what I wanted to do) without feeling resentful about it.

This changes, starting tomorrow. I have to be organized and focused and to keep up with several parallel tracks: home, family, Mom (who is family but is still a special category for a bit longer while she gets things settled), part-time work in a parish 27 miles away, part-time work on a new church thing. I don't expect to feel resentful - I'm grateful that I have work to do and a community - but sometimes one has to get out of the fast lane and take care of business that might have gotten shoved off onto a side road otherwise.

And I am profoundly grateful for the time and opportunity to travel and do new things. I am an externally oriented person (an ENFP in Myers-Briggs terms) and simply must have a variety of experiences to fill up my tank. Travel, the change of scenery, even to places I have been before, is a necessity for me. New experiences, new people, engaging new ideas, looking at new art or parks or water or whatever as well as being with old friends, reflecting on old ideas, re-engaging old haunts and old art and familiar scenes are all part and parcel of the life of my soul. I have been particularly blessed during this time off and feel very ready to move into the world that always begins again at the beginning of September.

God is good. We get what we need, often from unexpected places. These are the two things I've noticed most in this last month. I'm so grateful for that and for those who have been my companions along the way these last weeks.