Rough Week

This has been a very long week, leaving me exhausted by the end of it, but it definitely had some good times too.

Now that we are in the second half of the semester, I only have one class on Mondays, which does not start until 6:30 at night (I'm looking forward to not having night classes next semester). However, I still go to morning prayer at 7:30 and work at 8 in the morning, so it makes for a long day. I got a lot done in my in-between time on Monday, though, which is good because I didn't have much time after that.

Actually the school portion of my life has been running quite smoothly, which is good, given what else I'm working on. The one big change was that I started a class called Teaching Adults on Thursday, and I'm really excited about that. It's a class where I actually get to practice some of the things I'll be doing as a pastor, and I think it will be a really good class.

A lot of my week has actually been taken up with the installation service for our new president, Dr. Barger, which was. I have been working with the worship team and have been trying to track down banners for processing as well as helping with the seating arrangements. This was tricky, because besides a large worship team, we also had a 100 or so person procession and all of those people had to have a place to sit. It's been a bit of a headache at times, but I really love worship planning in general and I'm glad I had a chance to be a part of this, since we won't have another installation while I'm here.

The service went well, with just about as much chaos and confusion as one might expect. It was once again a reminder for me that I can in fact deal with things being imperfect. For instance, I had to McGyver some banner stands for the banners we were processing with, and my banner ended up standing in the back crooked for the entire service, and there was nothing I could do about it. By the end of the service when the procession was not going exactly as planned, I just stood behind my banner where nobody could see me and I laughed.

The service was good, though, and it was lovely to see Gloria Dei full to the brim. I love being there when I am in the Shalom room (the room just off Gloria Dei) and it is nearly empty, and I love being there when it is full to the brim and the new Presiding Bishop is preaching. I also loved being a part of the service, and I feel good about the part I was able to play.

I have had another good reminder about the importance of self-care again this week. I went out almost every night, and by Friday night I was exhausted and could not really handle being around people any more. And you know it's a sign of bad self-care when you don't have time to refill your antidepressants when they run out. I didn't even have time to do my dishes this week, and when I washed them yesterday morning, I immediately felt better. I keep having to learn to take care of myself the hard way, but I'm going to keep trying. This week will be quite a bit easier, as I'll be back to a normal schedule, and in less than a month, I'll be flying back to Texas for Thanksgiving!

Peace,
Kathryn