Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Re-entry
I’m trying to keep my vacation “state of mind” but it’s a challenge! My regular life has kicked in and I have catching up to do, especially at my workplace. Two weeks of completely different routines, and now it’s time to return to “normal”. I like normal. It’s predictable, and familiar, and I’m aware of my responsibilities. I have a routine that I follow as the day unfolds and I pretty much know how the day will end. This all fits with my personality type – a type 9 on the Enneagram and an INFP on the Meyers-Briggs. That makes me an introvert who prefers to avoid conflict.
These are simply indicators of personality traits – some very useful and others problematic. I have learned that I am never too old to work on the issues that keep me from enjoying all aspects of my life. Not that it is all joy-joy. There are portions of my day that challenge me to practice patience and kindness. For example, my work is very much dependent on getting communication from US Immigration Services. USCIS moves at a snail’s pace, though, and my clients and I often have to wait over a year to hear anything from them. But they are quick to find reasons to deny a case. Recently I sent a complete file together with a credit card authorization form – filled out correctly, and signed, so USCIS could receive payment. When I got back in the office, there was the whole file – denied because there was “no payment” with it. This kind of delay causes clients to suffer. In this case we did everything we were supposed to do, and somehow someone missed the payment authorization form.
In two weeks a lot had accumulated on my desk. Yesterday I spent most of the morning prioritizing what to tackle first. There were lots of emails from my clients and I usually answer those right away. I know what it feels like to send an email and then wait a long time for a response.
As I sat at my desk and pondered re-entry tactics I couldn’t help but think about things that we hurl into space and then wait for them to come back. Reentry into our atmosphere requires exact calculations to control the angle at which a vehicle will approach the horizon. If it is too shallow, the craft will bounce off the atmosphere and return to space. If it is too great the heat generated will destroy the craft as will the speed of reentry.
So, as usual, the key word is balance. Too fast a reentry and I lose the benefits of two weeks away. Too slow and I am faced with a mountain of responsibility that seems impossible to climb. If I remain in New Mexico in my mind I don’t have enough energy left over to give to life in St. Louis. The best I can do is remember that I will have other opportunities to go to Santa Fe, probably next year. With that in mind, I can better appreciate my daily life in the Midwest and take on whatever needs doing. And I know in my heart that life is good both here and there. I am blessed.