Losing It

Wow, I really feel like a chicken with my head cut off these days. In general I'm a true efficiency expert and a genius at multitasking, but lately I feel as though I'm barely holding it all together.

Work is taking up an unusually large chunk of my time for two reasons:
(1) I've been going into town once a week to work with Andy's bookkeeper, trying to soak up as much as I possibly can before she retires at the end of the month and I take over. I'm catching on, little by little, but it's an enormous undertaking. Normally I'd be spending a little time every day familiarizing myself with everything, but I just so happen to be swamped with editorial work, which is a rarity, since I've never had this much freelance stuff going on at once. So, speaking of which:
(2) Those two cookbook manuscripts are turning out to be a huge amount of work, and they're on overlapping, accelerated schedules. I truly love the work, but for the first time ever, I'm starting to worry a little about meeting my deadlines. I did manage to send off the first of the two manuscripts last week, and I'm working on the second one, but there's a lot to do. I keep reminding myself that in another couple of weeks, the kids will all be in camp and I'll be able to work full-time for 3½ weeks. I think I'll be able to make up any lost time then, but I hate to leave it all till then.

In the meantime, Andy was off last week, and I didn't want to miss out on all the fun family stuff, so I did trade off some work time for beach et al. Tomorrow night Andy and I were planning to take Steph to the Sox, but I'm going to send Pete in my place so I can get a few hours' more work done ... because next week is our vacation at the Cape! We haven't gone in two years, and although I will definitely have to do some work down there, I surely don't intend to miss out on all the relaxation and enjoyment.

So at some point this week, in between having the kids underfoot full-time, I have to find time to pack up the whole family for a week away. And, as if that weren't enough, I also have to get Steph ready for sleepaway camp, because we get home on a Saturday and she leaves the following Monday! There's plenty of shopping, washing, labeling, and packing to be done between now and then.

Everything is falling by the wayside. I've done precious little cooking or baking these last few weeks, the house is a pigsty, and I've neglected to do all the little things like returning the overdue library books and making my annual doctors' appointments.

And you, my wonderful and loyal blog readers, I've neglected you as well! I still haven't missed a day of blogging, but I've felt pretty sheepish about some of my lame posts recently. I maintain an ever-growing list of ideas for things I hope to post about "one of these days," so I hope you will bear with me and stick around until I'm over this hump in the road and back to normal. Whatever that is....

Comments

[Di]

I'm with you. I understand. And I'll be here when you get back. I'm kind of in the same boat with my new editorial job that is turning out to be bigger than I thought it would be.

[Elena]

I feel your pain too. I am spending the entire summer fretting over the job I'm starting in the fall, and feeling like I'm not getting anything done.

[Susan]

::tapping foot:: I'll be here. Waiting.

:-)

[steve]

I am a creature of habit, and your blog is a habit (a good one at that). So I'm going no where.

[amy]

but oh, the rewards of relaxing once you get there! we are out on Block island for 3 weeks and i went through the crazies getting out here--my son duncan is leaving from here to go home, add some items to a pre-packed backpack and then is being driven to the white mountains for a week-long backpack trip, so i had him ready in late june!--but once here, i've picked up the cooking piece and read 5 books so far.

keep on running, the end is in sight and oh so sweet!