Finding Time

When I left my job last spring to go back to school, I knew that I could at least substitute teach on days that I didn't have classes myself, thus keeping myself busy and earning a little bit of money.  So I signed up as a sub in the neighboring district.  It is now the middle of October, and I have not yet gone in to a classroom.  This isn't to say that the district hasn't called me.  In fact, I get multiple calls  some days.  The problem is two fold.  First, it is an automated system that calls me, and it only calls at certain hours. If I'm not present to pick up the phone, the system moves on. For half those hours in the afternoon I am in class.   In the morning, I usually am running. 

The second, larger issue is that I find myself so busy that I can't take the day to sub.  Between processing squash and apples, moving sheep fence, taking various pets to the vet, and redoing the kitchen floors, I simply have not been able to devote an entire day to subbing. 

Which brings me to the larger point of, "How did we manage before when I was teaching full time?"  I have no answers for that.  I think the old adage, "We do what we have to do" is fitting.  Somehow, we do manage to get it all done.  I like to believe that our brains know how to prioritize and can shift things around when needed.  This may be why our floor got done this year, but the cellar storm doors did not.  Or why I will spend three hours trying to inject a sheep with meds when she is sick, but otherwise I wouldn't have foreseen having three hours of time available in the middle of my day. 

In light of this, perhaps I am not finding time to sub because it's not a priority any more.  I have found far more pressing and/or interesting things to do with my time.  I did happen to find time in my schedule to enroll in a doula workshop out in Boston in a few weeks which I'm looking forward to.  For more information about doulas, you can check out www.dona.org.  Obviously, I am a big proponent of using a doula during birth, and studies have shown a strong correlation between doula use and labor time (25% shorter labors when supported by a doula). And,  many insurance plans do cover the cost of hiring a doula. 

Find some time in your busy life to enjoy yourself.  Just tell your brain to make that a priority!