Routine Returns

Well, I'm back.

Forgive my month-long hiatus; August became far more demanding than I anticipated. But I'm returning once again to normal routine.

Here's just a smattering of what the month held:

• teaching several seminars at a conference
• a weekend away with family
• moving middle child (our daughter) out of her apartment in MD back to PA
• moving said daughter from PA to dorms in DE
• moving 21-year-old son into his dorm
• more kidney/UTI issues for me
• adjusting to my type 2 pre-diabetes diagnosis and accompanying learning curve
• learning to include 60-minutes-per-day of exercise into my routine (mandatory now with my diabetes)
• several migraines
• completing a 60-hour volunteer project for high-school-senior son's marching band, which I do once a year--this year for the last time
• completing all the senior year stuff for said son (as only parents of seniors can know)
• managing the home front solo while dear hubby worked in Ireland (ten weeks this summer)
• reading and judging 40 books for a Writer's Digest competition (I'm a preliminary round judge), none of which were shipped in June when they were supposed to be shipped, all of which arrived in August
• treating Elsie's (our youngest Lab) ear and staph infections 2x daily for two weeks
• helping 82-year-old mother with car difficults, sale of one car, purchase of another
• writing deadlines and other work

And so it goes.

But next week begins our Bible study season once again, and after our Bible Study Leaders' meeting yesterday, I'm excited about the year. Our teachers are motivated, the Care Teams and Hostesses are eager to begin, and our enrollments by pre-registration are higher than ever.

God knows my exhaustion from last month, and my need to be equipped for this teaching season. And I trust He will provide as He always has before.

In the meantime, I'm trying to lower my stress levels, eat carefully, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep--all of which my doctor tells me are necessary to managing my insulin resistance.

So I have limitations after all! ;o) That's a good thing. It makes me confront my fraility, prioritize my physical needs, and rely on God more than ever.

Will I ever learn?

'Til next time,

Joan