The month of April has been an unusually busy one. I could feel the tension of the busy season building at the end of March and I began bracing myself for what I knew was going to be a difficult April and May. I'm currently in what feels like a never ending list of tasks and programs. My genius self rescheduled a program from February for April (which seemed like a good idea at the time). In addition to that, I made a trip to New Jersey with my 7 month old, ran a Spartan race, and decided to go to the National SGMP Conference in Minneapolis (coming up next week). I would say I'm looking forward to May, but it is looking like more of the same. The real life of an event planner.
The snooze button is usually my friend, but can also stab me in the back. I have been rising at 5 a.m. for about 2 weeks straight. After a week of early to rise, late to get home, but not early to bed, my body started telling me that I was in trouble. Rather than cancel my trip to Jersey to rest I pushed on, rising again at 5 a.m. to catch a plane. When I'm in Jersey I move non-stop because I only visit a few times a year and everyone wants to see the newest member of the Rivenbark clan.
My flight home meant I had to wake at 3:30 a.m. to get to the airport. By this time, I was completely spent and in full throttle of sickness. With a sore throat, stuffy nose, and bags under my eyes, I spent my birthday flying home and wound up calling out sick from work. My body, like a mixed martial arts fighter in a choke hold, had tapped out.
Even though I was spent, the amount of tasks and emails that continued to pile up at work was relentless. I told Jerry yesterday that, "I didn't have time to be sick." There was so much to do before I left for Minneapolis next week.
When you're in the midst of an event you just keep your head down, push forward, and do what needs to be done. That's exactly what I plan to do. Yet, Jerry subtly reminds me that I need to take care of myself because having me at 50% or less isn't good for me or anyone for that matter. It is so important to have these types of people in your life. Luckily, I have not only a husband that truly cares for my well-being and looks out for me when I'm a danger to myself, but I also have a boss that is incredibly supportive of work-life balance and taking care of ourselves. She also values the notion that although things need to get done, we have mechanisms in place to cover for each other when sickness arises.
Although I feel like I don't have time to be sick, I know that sometimes sick days are necessary, as was the case this week. Today, I am starting to feel like I am on the mend. Then I arrived at work to this:
A pile of paperwork at my desk
So this will be my day, tackling the mountain of paperwork and pushing myself a little more to get the job done.
Your body can only take so much and there are safeguards in place to ultimately save you from yourself. You would think that I would have learned this lesson by now, but no. I will press on until I can't anymore time and time again. This is the life of most event planners and others. Am I right?