Crunch Time

Christmas soon approaches. Most of my friends who are still in school are busy with finals. I am free of finals, but still feeling the pressure of this time of year. Just going to the post office today was a hassle. Unfortunately, I find myself on the schedule of the rest of America's work force. Since I work normal hours Monday through Friday, I have Saturday and Sunday to do most of the things I need to do unrelated to work. Last weekend Christmas shopping was crazy. Just seeing the traffic on Tunnel Road near the mall was enough to make me want to run away. It was the opposite of peace and joy for me.

I just thank my lucky stars I don't work at one of these establishments (the ones that push to sell products during Christmas). There is no overflow of hospice patients during Christmas. Bereavement may be another story. I know that people who have lost a loved one have an especially hard time at Christmas. I try to imagine sometimes how I would feel if I didn't have my family to go to around Christmas. I would probably dread it. I have a book of Christmas music that I bring around when I see patients, but not many people request Christmas music, despite the plethora of decorations around the hospice facility at which I work.

For me, crunch time doesn't necessarily have to do with finals or Christmas. It just has to do with entering the third month of my internship. Everything seems more challenging and overwhelming. I am learning new music very quickly, sometimes a couple of songs in a night. On top of that I have assignments to do. I have learned that planning relaxation scripts is not the most relaxing thing in the world. Also, I am learning to use Sibelius to write an arrangement of a song for our grief choir. It has been challenging, but I am learning that it is indeed superior to Finale, the program I used in school.

In the time of crunch, I am finding myself more prone to crunch down on junky food. The cafeteria food isn't that healthy to begin with, and having sweets that loving family members leave in the common areas of the hospice facility don't help my self-control. I know that sugar is a weakness for me. And this time of year it's harder than ever to avoid!

Despite all of this, I am still practicing my yoga and keeping myself healthy. I have not gotten ill yet since I moved. Hooray!