Friday brain drain

This week was a whirlwind of action at work, lots of last-minute getting-things-done and the beginnings of the registration mailing process. With two hundred kids in each grade level, that means a mammoth amount of work- and every time I glance at my calendar from September 1st forward, my stomach tightens. I’m more overwhelmed in this job than I’ve ever felt, which should be a great motivator for me- I always have done well right at deadline when the pressure’s on. But now the pressure’s on all the time, from Sunday-Thursday, and by Thursday (which is my Friday) I am so ready to sit on my chair and catch up on all the blogs I read (or try to read) every day, and watch mindless television.
We had a years-first-staff-meeting this week, introducing the newest staff members to us “oldies” and vice-versa. I want to make good use of staff meetings this year for PR and to educate people on just what’s going on in YM and the goals and needs. I have found that when you repeat things to people often, they start to take what you say in, and on, and believe them. So I’m trying to decide what it is I should be repeating. So far what I’ve heard myself hear is that my job is inhumanly huge… and I do want people to hear and believe that, because it’s true. I don’t want everyone to think it’s a cake-walk because when people believe that about your job, they start to offer helpful suggestions of more things you could be doing, I just don’t have the time/energy/resources, at least this year, to respond to that helpfulness, even the good ideas. I want people to know that I’m capable but strung out. Or, rather, strung out but capable.
But ultimately I want to remind people over and over this year that the Church is calling for change- that we are to really put our money where our mouths are and start serving/catechizing/evangelizing people throughout their lifespan. If we do truly believe that faith is a lifelong journey, then we have to stop concentrating our catechetical and evangelization efforts at the first 15 years of a person’s life. It’s time for the CCD paradigm to change.
So there’s a Friday blog entry after a whirlwind week. Maybe tonight I’ll have lost my work buzz enough to tackle something a bit more meaty….