I've spent too many days in the past eight years waking up at 5am only to go to teach at Lincoln, get home for 1/2 an hour to an hour, go to teach at Baker, and finally get home for the night at around 10pm (sometimes later) only to go to bed and start a similar process the next day. For a couple of years, I was doing this Monday through Thursday while also teaching a morning class on Saturday.
I burned the candle at both ends. I felt it eat away at my health. With my blood pressure issues of this past year even despite my lower weight, I knew that the stress was finally overtaking me. I felt it eat away at my abilities as a teacher. Even though I thought I was putting my best effort forward, I was told that I was no longer the best person to teach the EDU classes at Baker that I was teaching. In this past semester (where I was not able to teach at Baker largely due to scheduling issues), I have found that I have been a better teacher for my high school classes. I felt it eat away at my sense of self. I was going through the motions of living, especially for these past few years. Each day was just another day to get through until the next break. I was wishing my life away.
The only downside is our finances. Due to the massive cut that I received these past two years (I'm making about 17% less than what I was supposed be making this year [and last year, and next year]), our budget was already pretty tight. Without the supplemental income from Baker, we are really struggling. That said, I was afraid that I was heading for an early heart attack. My life insurance isn't that good ...
I can feel the weight off of my shoulders, but I don't want to just fritter away the time that I have reclaimed. Sure, I plan on allowing myself to relax a bit more from the tightly wound schedule that I followed for the past eight years, but I also want to get back into touch with my creative side as well. Now I have that time, to spend with my family, to work on my writing, and to revitalize myself.