a typical day in my life...

If you are one of the people who have called me at least twice a week for the last month and have still not received a return phone call from me…here is why.

Let me show you what a typical day for me looks like this semester:

5:30am—wake up/make coffee/remind myself to be grateful for this new day

6:00-7:00—Jog anywhere from 3-6 miles or study (depending on what tests and how much material I have on my plate)

7:00—Jump in shower/ quickly dress/check emails/make to-do list for the day/pack a lunch/ make sure my book bag is packed/make sure my assignments are in my book-bag/call mom back/ make sure I have my keys…

7:30-8:30—study neuroanatomy. Only get through 2 pages out of 20.

8:30—head to school

9:00am-4:00—in class—literally the entire time. On my lunch break from 12-1, I quickly eat and then look over more material for the next class or previous class.

4:20pm—get home from school (and sadly no smoke break for me)

4:30-5:00—return emails/pay bills/check assignments

5:30-6:30—Pure Barre or Yoga (depending on the day)

7:00—arrive home and make dinner

7:30-10:00pm—Study—either Kinesiology, Med Conditions II, Middle Childhood Adolescents class, etc

10:00-10:30—wind down, check messages, watch end of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central

11:00—head to bed to read for about 20 minutes until my eyelids droop

(And that schedule doesn’t take into account the fact that I have an 8:00am every Wednesday. It also doesn’t take into account grocery shopping/meal preparation (because I try and eat out only once a week), laundry, cleaning, meetings, etc.)

And that is on a good day. The bad days are when I only get 4 hours of sleep because some unexpected thing pops up….(for example, my vehicle basically fell apart last Wednesday and I have been without a vehicle for 7 days).

Keep in mind that I’m not even making A’s—I’m making more low B’s to high C’s (and some D’s). If I were to make A’s, I would have to cut out workouts and study more on the weekends---and that is not something I’m willing to do.

Also keep in mind that if I don’t work out at least once (preferably twice) a day, my ADHD acts up (even though I do take medicine) and it’s almost impossible for me to remember anything I’ve learned or studied. It’s also impossible for me to sleep. I have to wear myself out during the day so that I’ll sleep at night. Yes, be grateful if you are more “normal” in this area.

As you can see, the only time I have to actually use the phone are for the brief 10-15 minute intervals en route to the next activity….and most of the phone calls I receive require much more than 10 minutes.

Now, I know for a fact that most people are just as busy as I am. What I just described to you is probably more normal than un-normal. And I don’t have a husband or kids so usually the above schedule is manageable although completely un-preferable. Most everyone knows I like to play way more than I like to work. And I get to play very little this semester.

(By the way, I won’t go into this soap box now, but I can’t tell you how frustrated and annoyed I get when my friends, who are married and have children, assume that because I’m not married and don’t have kids that I have more time or am somehow “living the dream”. I can assure you that even though I don’t have the same stresses as you, I have more on my plate than I can handle—it’s just a different kind of busy and a different kind of stress.)

But I’m telling you this because I feel bad that I don’t have time to talk to you for an hour. Or even 30 minutes—or even really at all. At the end of my day, I just don’t have the energy to engage as much as I’d like. Please don’t take this personal. It’s not. This semester has been the worst (busy-wise and hard-wise) and I really am so ready for Spring Break (which is in 7 school days).

I also try to maintain the really important relationships in my life that keep me sober—with my sponsor and sponsee(s)

On top of that, my sister is getting married in April and I’m trying to be a good maid of honor and help out my mom and sis—but I just feel like I haven’t done enough. Aside from 2 weekends, I'll be out of town every weekend from now until April 15th.

I really am so grateful and blessed to have such a full life.

I wish, so much, that I could have meaningful, engaging conversations with ALL the people that I hold dear. I wish I could do lunch and dinner and go see movies with you. I wish I could go to your birthday party, watch your children in all their activities, and come over for dinner.

But the truth is that I won’t be able to really do any of that until May.

May 4^th to be precise—and then I’ll have a full 3 week break before Summer term starts.

So to all of you who are unable to reach me, I’m here—but not really.

The best way to communicate with me is via email (Jennifer.Nanney@gmail.com) or text. It takes less energy and time and I’m more likely to respond.

I hope all of you are doing wonderfully well. I hope you’re enjoying the little things that I so desperately want to be enjoying as well….

I'm living by this mantra...

All My Love,

Jen