Tuesday, August 31, 2021

The Whole Work Thing? Phew. Three More Weeks Until I Feel Like Myself Again. Bless. I'm Just Done Already.


Obviously, yesterday was Monday. I started at 8 a.m. and tried to maintain a mental pace until 10 p.m., my usual, but I had to put a fork into it. My brain can't keep up with the pace that the last 49 years have offered. Yes, I had surgery and that is playing a part (of course), and the doctor did say 3 more weeks of being still, but that is nearly impossible given the workload that is my job and the fact the semester begins next week. 

My friend Beth posited earlier this summer about the cruelty of a professional life when so many people have to put off medical attention, family obligations, and even mental health considerations, because the demand of work-life doesn't have time for that. It's wrong. I am fortunate to have work, but this is my Tuesday whine-fest so let me indulge.

Typically, an academic and/or teacher is to come back to the new school year refreshed and rejuvenated, but that is impossible when there's non-stop work over the summer months and no vacations. Well, I guess lying on a hospital bed and getting cut-open is a vacation...for a couple of weeks, anyway, but the work doesn't go away.

I tried to get writing done with a colleague, but the more I tried to concentrate, the more I got distracted by the work needing to be done and the lack of administrative support to accomplish it. In the doctor's office, I cheered on the surgeon with the fact that she does operations in two locations, has two offices, and manages staff in both. She's also super friendly, funny, professional, and knowledgeable. We talked about the pace of work, the demands, and the people who she employs, and I wondered if she can cut work off when she gets home, or is there always paperwork, reports, budgets, etc. that she has to work on. I know she has two kids, too. Does she have time to parent?

Ah, but I also know what my surgery cost. Her nurse says she does 5 a day, because she is given the surgical room to accomplish this...sometimes more (because of shootings, sometimes less), and then she consults with pre-ops and post-ops. That is tremendous, moving finances all over the place. Someone needs to be an accountant of it all: payrolls, equipment, space rentals, administrative support, etc. Her brilliance and expertise is also a business (as I learned with Tricia's optometry work in Syracuse and Boston). 

So, I guess where I am today is with the exhaustion part. I'm tired and it hasn't even begun. I did get some more sleep than I usually do because of the surgery, but I know it's not enough. And today, I have another 12-hours of commitments (and I'm trying to figure out what I can get out of...very little wiggle room). 

It has begun again, well, it hasn't really ended. And I'm thinking of K-12 teachers everywhere feeling the same, as the world has simply been excessively draining these last two years. Now, we'll see what happens as educational facilities return to normal. 

We'll find out. I need to find my 7 dwarves today and rekindle my usual way to whistle as it all goes down. Instead, this morning, I'm grumpy. 

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