October Thoughts

I am posting this in hopes that I will remember to look back at it at the beginning of October next year (or even in September) to remind myself of a few things so I can make better choices for myself.

First of all, I should remember that our little bedside radio/alarm clock is programmed to be helpful and change the time for the daylight savings switches. However, it was programmed before the dates were moved to one week later in the fall and three weeks earlier in the spring. Yesterday morning, I crawled out of bed only to discover that it was already 8:00. Good thing it was Sunday, and I wasn't late for anything, but that was still very surprising since the bedside clock said 7:00. Oh, yeah. That preprogrammed thing.

More importantly, I should remember that during October when all my school-year activities are in full swing, I should learn to say no to some commitments, or at least put them off until January. Even if each activity only requires a few hours a week, I feel as though I am scrambling for what I am supposed to do and I am not fully prepared for whatever it is I am about to do. I look at my lesson plans just before I head off to school and realize that there was something I was supposed to do - a visual to prepare, a song to put on my iPod, something that I would normally have taken care of early.

I know that some people are great at this "just in time" preparedness, but the older I get, the more it unsettles me.

Also, October is one of the long months in the school year. It has 31 days and no special days off. March is the other long month. In November I can look forward to Veteran's Day as well as a week off at Thanksgiving, so soon I will have a chance to feel caught up.

Thanks for allowing me to indulge in a little self-reflection for this post. Tomorrow I should get back to regularly scheduled life.