Balance

My tradition continues...of after a nice, relaxing vacation, I get struck down in the prime of life with some crappy flu bug.

This year's no different.

It was almost okay, apart from the self-induced guilt from missing a day of work when I had just been gone for a week and a half. But no one wants a sickie across the table coughing their way. The forced rest (this time, not by the beach) helped me easily transition from vacation time to the fresh start of the New Year. I didn't start the the New Year with harsh diets or parochial exercise plans.

Just chicken soup, OJ, and bed rest!

I resolved to take better care of myself. As I laid in bed before dawn this morning, unable to move through the body aches and croaking my TheraFlu needs to Jack, I decided to take care of myself and stay in bed. Work will be there tomorrow.

Work will always be there.

That's part of the problem with me, as I deeply realized over the last few weeks. All there is to my life is work (and some well-timed dinners with Jack). I have little balance in my life. That's one of the reasons I resumed my Theology degree. And why I give my Franciscan Leadership homework assignments such thorough attention. And the primary reason I signed up for two group fitness classes.

I'm not doing a gym membership. I can don my earphones and baseball cap and do my solo workout at our gym in our complex or on my dreadmill. I'm craving the social aspect and plan on using my boxing and Pilates classes with a couple close co-workers to reconnect and to get me out of work before 6 or 7 p.m. each evening.

Work's always going to be work and I'm going to be busy. It's just how I roll. After vacation, I returned to two sexual harassment charges in a department, a several RFP's to review for a consultant's engagement, two massive projects to manage, several ethics consults, a department to relocate, and a department to close. It excites me and I love what I do. Every morning, I wake up, eager for the next day's activities and challenges.

Yet, I can take it too far. That's why I am resolving to seek better balance this New Year.

I'm also piloting a new style here in blogville. Previously, I've used the blog to catalogue and reflect upon my experiences. It's starting to feel two-dimensional, at least to me. I want to refresh it and write about one focused topic at a time. My blog posts are starting to read like a treadmill of my life.

I don't want to subject any of us to that!

So we'll see how it goes. Everything in balance.