a balancing act

my life has become this big ol' mess of give and take, like the world is smiting me one second and then blessing me with incredible happiness the next. i have had a stressful week, unlike any that i've seen in a long time. only thing i think of that was comparable to this in the last couple of years is maybe when dad was in the hospital during the summer, or possibly when we had to move in a week at the last apartment. either way, it's been tough. so, to demonstrate my theory, here are the examples i can think of with the ying and yang of the past week...
i've had incredibly busy days that keep me booked and on my toes all day long, which means i'm doing my job but can be a bit overwhelming. but then i've gotten so many compliments about how much they appreciate having me here and how impressed parents are with me, which makes the overwhelming parts all worth while.
i've essentially been scared out of staying at my apartment by myself overnight, and been spending what free time i have packing stuff up and fighting with the rental company about what i think i should be able to expect from them. but--i've also had some awesome friends open up their homes to me and my cats, and we've all stayed comfortable and warm and safe, and i can't explain how wonderful that has been.
i drove around greenville for about an hour and a half last night, going from school to the rental office to the electric company to rob and leigh's to school to matt and patrice's to my place to pick up dinner and then to church. i hit horrible traffic on the way and chose a route that was closed by the police at one point, so we all had to turn around and go back the way we came. i forgot my cell phone and the book i was going to use for class in my office at school, so i had to go back and pick that stuff up. in the end, though, my plans for the kids' class ended up falling through (so i didn't even end up using the book) and i had to come up with something at the last minute and i sooo didn't want to be there. but i ended up having a great time with the children and then going to see justin for a little while and getting big comforting hugs--and that made up for my awful afternoon.
and i've had one of the busiest, most stressful, crazy messed-up weeks--and next week, i have two days of work and three days of vacation which will allow me to recover in peaceful, holiday relaxation...

ready for the weekend (and for this week to be over). thank goodness it's thursday!