Overwhelmed

Ever get that feeling that you have more to do than there are hours in the day, days in the week, and weeks in the year! Oh good, because that's how I'm feeling right now.

All the chaos and stress of having construction worker in the house, and extra time having to be at home for security purposes, and the fact that there are only 5 weeks until I have to have my second batch of report cards completed are combining to stress me out. Unfortunately the more stressed I get, the less I am able to deal with each of the things that need to be dealt with, and so I tend to get to a point where just putting one foot in front of the other & climbing the stairs to my classroom is a challenge. That's about where I am now. I can do things that don't require much thinking, but thinking is hard work - hey I teach 4th graders, and they hate questions that make them think, so why should I enjoy thinking.

I did enjoy sleeping in over the weekend, but am struggling to get motivated to do the preparation and grading that I needed to do for school. In fact, it didn't get done. None of it! Oh boy, how did I get through today. One might think that I have 24 little motivators that I have to face each school day, and that's true because I hate not giving them my very best, which is what happens when I don't get prepared ahead of time. However at times they are just 24 added stressors. Fortunately it's not my very first year of teaching, and I'm at a point where I can cover a day or even two with a minimum of preparation. Beyond two days it becomes a bit more difficult. Unfortunately when I do that, things tend to get forgotten (like giving out the books they need for reading homework).Aaaagh. Now do I see who will volunteer to do it at recess, and hope I get six students to do that, or what??? Actually, I can manage if there are 3 who will do it. Hmmm. That might be an option.

The other good thing is that I don't have to do it my strength. I need God's strength, and I need the prayers of those around me and apart from me. Again, I'm thankful for some good friends that I can send a one word SMS to, and know that they will be there in prayer for me.

Well, aside from the other things I didn't get done over the weekend, I didn't get the grocery shopping done, so I'd better go and do it now. Hopefully the traffic will have calmed a little (yes we do have peak hour here in Phnom Penh, when the traffic can frequently come to a standstill) but it has usually settled by about 7.00pm. It's not quite that, but should be starting to ease, so I'll head down town for some essentials. After that it's home for an early night tonight.

Karen