All right, time for an explanation, I suppose.
Last week, I alluded in the Justice Gator post to the fact that I was having an unbelievably long, busy week. I did feel bad, leaving everybody hanging with no new blog content. This week has been quite a bit easier; next week will be bad again. Though not quite as bad as last week, knock on wood. Truth be told, I've been saying to myself for a couple of months that, once I get through May, I think I'll live to see 32. But really, it's been more a matter of "once I make it to 5/12, I've got a fighting chance to make it the rest of the way." So I will try to walk you through my week, so's you know where I's coming from.
This isn't a ploy for sympathy, mind you, because I'm not complaining. Just a window into the life of a guy with four jobs, two kids, and one car. For any of you who are thinking of pursuing such a lifestyle yourselves :-)
Monday: Monday was weird for a lot of reasons. For one, I only got about 2.5 hours of sleep the night before. You might think this was because I was out at Iron Man 3, but it wasn't. I actually still had a shot at about 4 hours of sleep at that point, and 4 hours is not too far from my norm these days. For some reason, I just couldn't fall asleep when I went to bed, and then I had to wake up at 5 to catch the bus for my booking in Katy. Made it to the 5:50 bus on time and stepped off my 3rd bus in Katy at 7:02 (like clockwork). Then, I received the news that my grandfather had died that morning right about the time I was falling asleep. Grandpa Alex and I were not particularly close. In fact, I rarely saw him the last several years I lived in Kansas, and the only times I saw him after that were after he moved in with my parents. He hadn't lived a particularly admirable life, at least not where family goes, and he also spent most of his life pretty adamantly avoiding God. Over the past few years, I would see him when we went up for Christmas, and I'd take the boys. By that point, he was in an assisted living facility and it was clear he wasn't always 100% "there." All this to say it wasn't a major emotional blow to find that he was gone, but it was still quite a bit of a surprise, and it did make for a very surreal morning. (I forget if we had 2 or 3 performances that day, but I think it was 2) I kept trying to contact home to make sure everybody was all right, and my mom assured me that my dad was doing very well, which I admit I found puzzling because I know how hard my dad had been praying for his dad, and now it seemed like he was gone without having ever changed his mind about Christ. Later, I learned that, in grandpa's last day, he had a window of mental clarity during which he spoke with the nursing home chaplain and, in that time, he did accept Christ. Once I learned that, I understood why my dad and his brother had been taking this so well. Because Grandpa Alex was ready to go. His body had been going downhill for years. Ditto with his mind. So for God to grant him that last bit of mental clarity, that last chance for redemption, and for Grandpa to have taken it--I'll just say I'm stunned anew by the grace of God, and I can see now why Grandpa's passing was more of a celebration than a mourning. Because all the time that was lost by his choices in this life is nothing compared to the time we'll have together in glory.
Anyway, after my performance on Monday, I was dropped off a the bus stop to learn that I had missed my bus by five minutes. (This happens ALL the time) It was about noon by this point and the next bus going downtown (to begin my 2+ hour commute back via the metro system) wasn't due for another 45 minutes, so I decided to walk back down the street to grab a bite at Fuzzy's Pizza, which I'd never tried before. It was great. It also took longer than I expected, so I also missed the next bus and had to wait another half hour. I think I finally made it home sometime between 5 and 6, but most of the details from that day are pretty hazy. I don't remember anything from that night except tiredness.
Tuesday: not as bad a Monday. I did get closer to 5 hours of sleep. Which is...good? Normally on Tuesdays I go in to the church for staff meeting, but I called off that day because I was in dire physical need of rest. I decided to run some errands in the morning and then snooze in the afternoon. However, the "getting a new phone charger" errand ended up taking about three and a half hours. Long, uninteresting story. You've all been there. So by the time my errands were done, it was time to get the boys, get Kim, and head to the ballpark for the night. Fortunately, I was one of the ones cut loose early, so it was only a 4-hour shift. That hurts the bank account somewhat, but it suited me just fine, knowing the rest of the week was still ahead of me. Plus, I was tired. Unfortunately, since Kim and the boys had dropped me off, I didn't have the car, so it was buses home for me. Which means I still got home a little after midnight.
Wednesday: Wednesday was almost a normal day. My morning call-time was fairly late, so I didn't have to wake up at 5 to catch a bus. Instead I took the boys to school and the sitter and took Kim to work before catching the train downtown to catch the bus to Katy. Also, the booking ran late enough that I scheduled myself out from the ball game, so I was able to come home as soon as the booking was over. (Again, it was two performances, I think) I even planned on going to bed early (10:30 p.m. or so) that night.
Didn't count on the baby getting sick.
Blah blah blah, rock-a-baby, rock-a-baby, bottom line is bed time was actually 3 a.m.
Thursday: Thursday was rough because Isaac was still sick. He was cranky, he cried all day, he wouldn't sleep for longer than half an hour, I hurt my back carrying him all night and day. It was a long day. And then another ball game. Again, I was fortunate to go home early, but unfortunate to be headed home on the bus.
Friday: And we saved the best for last. Bam! Five o'clock wakeup call. Triple performance. Bus back into downtown, kill a little time at the library instead of coming all the way home, walk to the ballpark for a full game PLUS fireworks. I will say I was again awed by God's grace, as I actually lasted this day much better than I expected to, especially given the previous four days' worth of activity and sleeplessness. But I made it, I made it, I made it. Thank God it's the weekend.
Saturday: Only I have to teach two acting classes on Saturdays. Well, I more "assist" with the first and teach the second. But this day almost got me. I had to step out of the room for a few minutes during the first class to steady myself. Getting a bit jittery, you know? But I got myself under control, finished up the class, put some food in my stomach, and finished strong. And then, of course, went to work another ball game.
So there you have it. Seven performances, four ball games, two acting classes, and about 24 hours of sleep over 6 days. Next time I say "I've got along week ahead" or "I've had a really busy week," you now have a frame of reference :-)
