schedules

One of the realities of having a loved on in any home other than your own is trying to find a way to schedule visits. Fortunately the Birches is only an hour from where I live, but still it is not easy.

I did not go today. As I wrote last week, the disturbance of the other residents by me being there over lunch showed me that I couldn't continue to do that any more. The trouble is, Mondays at lunch are about the only time during the week that I can regularly be sure to have little or no time conflicts. As a pastor, my schedule is hectic and varies from week to week, and I need at least a three-hour time block to go.

I felt very little guilt for not going today, however, and I may skip this week entirely. I have found my visits in these weeks following my move to be very draining and sad. I think that is because the grief issues surrounding my move are getting added into the mix. It feels like a big weight off of my shoulders to think about taking a week off from a visit. Without needing to set the alarm this morning, I didn't wake up until almost 10 am...exhausted from the weeks of moving and working without any substantive break. I paid bills and vacuumed the house, walked the dog and read the latest National Wildlife Federation magazine.

I printed out the log file for my website and saw that this blog had 474 hits last week. So, I say to all of you wrestling with these sorts of concerns...take a break. It is good for body and soul. I'm sure I will figure out a schedule somehow, or simply vary the days and times that I go. But I think that will become clearer once I rest. I will still try to write something on (or close to) Mondays.