The Storm

These are the last days of peace and quiet before The Storm. Or in other words, the new academic year will start next week and waves of it will surely sweep me off my feet. But God willing, I will emerge from this storm in the beginning of next June, drenched and exhausted, yet alive and sane. 

What is to come is as exciting as it is scary. Because I will be trying to brace three, no, four major waves at the same time and occasionally I have serious doubts about my ability to survive them all.

The first wave. The school year starts next week with the preliminary meetings for teachers taking place already this week. I will, once again, teach Estonian and Literature courses for two classes, one 5th grade and one 6th grade. It was just yesterday that I received my timetable for the coming year - it gets real once you know when you need to be in a classroom, smart and sassy, teaching them sweet girls (who, let's be honest, can also be a lot less than sweet). One classroom will be full of familiar faces and another one terra incognita. Everything is infinitely easier this year as I already have one year of experience under my belt but it will still take fair amount of energy to keep up with this hullabaloo that's waiting for me in the classroom.  

The second wave has to do with the fact that I'm landing back in the Conference office next week. My part-time employment in the church resumes on September 1st but I still have only a vague idea of what my obligations will be this time. And yet, I'm excited. My superiors and the other office guys are wonderful and I've missed working with them. And some things will certainly go back to the good old road and rhythm, too. For example, I have already promised to continue with my monthly program in the Christian Radio Station (which I dropped last year); and I have also promised to meet up regulary and study the Bible with a very opinionated and energetic teenager wo wants to get baptised. Thaaaat's gonna be fun. 

The third wave worries me the most because that's the final push to get my doctoral project done and dissertation written/defended. Where all that energy will come from, I don't know. But fortunately enough, things are moving forward, slowly but steadily. Just a half an hour ago I received a formal looking email from Andrews Uni, from their Research Integrity & Compliance Office (heavens!) where they state that my research project (a preaching series in my home church and the collecting & analysing of feedback) has been deemed appropriate and safe for all human subjects by the Institutional Review Board. Or in other - simpler - words, I have been given a green light from Andrews to do my preaching series and get the two remaining chapters of my dissertation on paper. Phew. The preaching itself, assuming the churches will stay open, should take place in November and December, the writing in January and February. In my head, I have the deadline of March 1st for the whole shebang to be done and fininshed, but uhmm, I don't know. I don't know if I can pull it off.  

The fourth wave - my relationship and S. - is not a wave at all, of course. It's more like a lifeboat in the middle of this raging sea. But still, I need to look at my calendar and find all these airbags of free time that I could use for traveling to Stockholm. Needless to say, there are not many of those. My schedule for the coming year looks insanely tight. But for the sake of my sanity, I will find that time. I will. 

If I manage all this and come out alive on the other side, I will - with the sigh of relief and perfect peace of mind - become a housewife. Word. :)