It's a HELLUVA week.....

so far.

And, it's only Monday.
MONDAY.

Sometimes when I think my life goes at a frenetic pace, it's nice to be reminded that yes it does.
I'm not imagining it.
This is very good news.
I'd hate to think all of this was in my head.
Because....honestly....I couldn't dream this stuff up.

We have a new guy at work.
He's a great guy from what I can tell.
But I'm getting just a little bit worried about him.
He seems completely and utterly overwhelmed by the pace of our days, the number of hours we work, the hundreds of emails we re expected to respond to, the onslaught of meetings that appear on our calendars, the extra activities we are expected to participate in, the huge projects we are tasked with, the committee time we are responsible for being part of and the fact that--as he says it--no one does lunch around here unless it's a working lunch.
All the while he is telling me this, I'm thinking....and your point is? please get to it quickly because I have 56 emails that need answered in the next 10 minutes, I have a phone meeting in 5, I need to confirm 27 interviews, finish 3 proposals and I think my bladder needs emptied. Not sure on that last one though.

I'm sure everyone feels overwhelmed with their days and their lives.
I'm not alone.
But when I encounter someone who actually sits there and says "this is too much", I find myself taken aback.
On one hand I want to cheer and scream and say "look someone else notices!"
On the other hand, I want to say "what the hell is wrong with you?"
Part of me is impressed that someone has the balls to say "I want to go to lunch not sit at my computer and work through it!"
Another part of me wants to say "just get with the program, okay?"

Sometimes I think all of this work and the hectic pace of it become badges of honor.
It's as if we are not feeling overwhelmed and running on empty, our life and our time matters less.
I admit, I get caught up in that thinking--in a very unconscious way.
I wonder--is it just my environment that does it to me or is it me or it is just life?

I'm so mentally and physically exhausted right now, all I have the energy to do is....WONDER....