It’s happening again. The days are getting shorter. The nights are getting cooler. The smell of fresh school supplies is in the air. That can mean only one thing—back to school. For those of you who don’t know, that means back to work for me. I work at my youngest son’s elementary school as an educational paraprofessional assisting special needs students with one-on-one support.
As we prepare to return to our school year schedule, I am looking back over the summer to assess how we spent our time. The assessment leaves me unimpressed and a little disgusted with myself. Yes, we were very busy driving T to baseball and golf. Yes, we did squeeze in J’s T-Ball and swimming lessons and vacation bible school. There were bike rides and stolen moments skipping stones at the reservoir. And let’s not forget the Cedar Point trip, the County Fair, and the Corn City Festival. But what happened to my project list? What happened to organizing my house before the next school year so I don’t waste endless minutes looking for socks ... or a bill ... or my glasses ... or whatever essential item is lost in one of my piles.
Organization—not my strong point. Not because I don’t appreciate the benefits and wisdom of organization. Not because I don’t want a clean house. Lately, I’m just tired. Tired of running and full of thoughts in a thousand directions of things I would like to do or things that need done. There are household chores, ministry needs, paperwork, bills, the kids’ activity schedules, speaking engagements to prepare for, writing deadlines, and preparing to return to work. Of course, what am I doing right now? Blogging. That’s what happens. I look at the To-Do List and quickly grow overwhelmed. I don’t know where to begin. And there’s only so much time in the day. Sometimes, I feel like I have ADD when I look at the list, because it certainly doesn’t take a lot to distract me. I grow discouraged by the size of the tasks, and often do something that isn’t even on the list, rather than choosing one of the dreaded items.
