Overwhelmed

I am feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by lots of things.

Overwhelmed can be good or bad . . . and I am happy to say I am mostly overwhelmed by good things right now.

First, I am overwhelmed (thrilled, flabbergasted, amazed) by the response of my first fundraising letter. With the incredible generosity of my family and friends, I earned over $700 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in ONE day! ONE DAY!!! That's AWESOME! I am deeply touched and grateful for your incredible support. Of course, I'm only a third of the way there . . . so please keep those donations coming.

Also, I am overwhelmed (relieved, unburdened) that a very big question about my future here has finally been answered to the degree that I can make future plans . . . which basically means I am here for another year.

Of course, with the good comes the bad and I am also overwhelmed (buried) by all the final work that needs to be completed in this last week! It was so bad I actually MISSED a final yesterday. Yup - I was AWOL, MIA, a no-show. I entered the time of the final incorrectly in my calendar and left my students abandoned and wondering where I was. UGH. I am embarrassed and horrified by my mistake and am now having to schedule all of their final scenes individually in the few open slots I have during the week. What a mess.

Fortunately, I got out for a maintenance run this morning with Zoe. All those fabulous donations inspire me and make it really easy to get up and out early. It was a beautiful morning - warm, but I like it that way (Zoe is less enthusiastic) - and we ran a regular route that takes us along a golf course so Zoe can go swimming in the water traps. She can also stay off leash a great deal along that route as it is a quiet neighborhood with a couple of cul-de-sacs that we run. So it's nice for both of us. And I really needed the run after my insane stupidity yesterday.

I find I'm sharper when I'm training (yesterday being an anomaly). In spite of all the work ahead, I'm actually not FRANTIC about it and I'm just ticking things off my to-do list and getting it done.

So . . . a week from today marks the end of my school year here and though I am counting the days to "summer vacation," I am overwhelmed by the knowledge that I DID it.

I now have a summer to prep (hahaha - okay, maybe a little) for next semester and to relax and enjoy some time and travel. Hopefully the good feeling of being overwhelmed will continue through the summer and into the fall.

Better overwhelmed than underwhelmed!