Things are about to get CRAZY

I recently sat down and started filling out my calendar/planner for the fall. I only filled in the dates through the end of December, and have only added scheduled activities through the first of November, but I have to tell you something: Things are about to get CRAZY!

As a newspaper person it is probably pretty obvious that one of the first things I would put on my fall calendar would be football games. I mean, we are in East Texas, where high school football is the mainstay of Friday evening entertainment. What a lot of readers may not realize is The Steel Country Bee covers three different schools. That, my friend, is a LOT of football. (And a lot of days filled on the calendar before you know it!) Now, add on top of that the fact that my oldest child plays football for one of those three teams, and my middle daughter will be in seventh grade and play school sports for the first time this year, as well. This will be added on top of her fall softball schedule. Can you start to see the craziness?

Now, on top of the sports and activities for my children, there are a multitude of activities coming up in the fall that will be of importance in the world of local community journalism. Daingerfield Days, holiday events, meetings, and any other things that pop up like grand openings, ribbon cuttings, and the like, will make for an even tighter schedule. Now, understand: I love my job and will do my dead level best to cover everything the best I can. But, I am also one person, and cannot be everywhere, so please be kind.

Now, back to the craziness that is about to come, and the whole purpose of writing this. As I looked as simply two months of my schedule, with ONLY the three school’s football schedules written in, it was kind of overwhelming. We all have a tendency to be overwhelmed when we actually take a look ahead and what all is on our upcoming schedule. We have all looked at our calendar, full of dates, events, and activities, and wondered how we would get it all done. How do we, myself included, make sure we survive our already tight schedules?

This is my suggestion, and what I am going to attempt to do for myself in the coming months: Make sure to carve out a little time for yourself to break the endless cycle of meeting yourself coming and going. A weekend away, or a night at the movies, or even an hour or two sitting on the porch with a glass of your favorite beverage will go a long way in keeping you ready to meet yourself on the next time around. Will it make you any less busy? No, it won’t. But at least you will have that time, however long it may be, to slow down, breathe, and prepare yourself for the next event. And who couldn’t use a little bit of time to slow down? Because, my friend, you know it will only get crazier from here on out, so we might as well make it bearable!