Coping

Ever since the beginning of summer I've been waiting for life to slow down enough for me to catch up. Every time I think it's about to settle down, something else happens.

First there was school and moving; then things started happening at work: a teacher was put on bed rest and quit, another teacher kept getting sick (when she lost her voice half way through her shift we knew it was for real), I was teaching twice the number of hours I am supposed to plus trying to keep up with my regular work....but through it all we knew that it wouldn't last forever and summer would end.

Then there was that terrible week when the 2 teachers were out sick, my director was out sick on day and at the hospital waiting on her dad's surgery the next day, and then my grandmother died, and I was trying to cope at work, and then I made a very quick trip home for the funeral...but summer would end soon and life would relax.

And then it was September but instead of things returning to normal they picked up weirdness when I was "needed" in other centres around the city (with intense commutes but that's a post for another day) 2 days a week. And there was still schoolwork to be done. And somehow I managed to keep up (prayer...lots and lots of prayer).

This morning I got an email from my friend Jude. Her father died on Monday. He was in his late 70s and had been sick on and off (mostly complications due to the diabetes) for a long time. The first time I met him, probably close to 6 years ago (not too long after I moved to Edmonton) he learned that both my grandfathers died many years back. Having no grandfathers was not right, so he declared himself to be my grandpa. I loved Grandpa; he was a character! And now my heart hurts again. And I'm still praying for the strength for each day.

And I wonder: how much more does He think I can handle?