From the heat to the heat

We just returned from a week in the desert where the temperature several days was near 110 degrees. Of course, the old joke is, "It's a dry heat", but it was hot.  It was tempered by the fact we were on vacation, we sat around the swimming pool jumping in as needed to be refreshed, and generally sat in air-conditioned rooms when we weren't outside.  It was hot but lots of fun...free from the routine and responsibilities of busy life.

In the heat but away from the heat.

Coming home always means lots of dreaded tasks--unpacking, washing clothes, and getting caught up. I am no longer the "head honcho" where I am employed as senior pastor but our lead pastor now carries the weight of the day-to-day decisions, and he is doing that well.

Interestingly enough it was 48 degrees when I stepped outside this morning and it has been in the low 70's here...almost cool, like a typical fall day here.  But I came home to the heat..

Work is like that--long-distance counseling, resetting a schedule to fit in the requests for meetings, catch-up correspondence, administrative tasks, and a faulty computer that resulted  in a dash to nearby Staples to find an instant fix...a temporary band-aid, as I've wrestled with computer malfunction all day.

From the heat into the heat.  A typical transition.  An expected climate when returning from vacation.

Here's the good news.  It's 2:30 pm, and after seven and a half hours my list is almost all checked off.  Everything is getting done, all the "fires" have been doused, and the rest of the week has been, hopefully, scheduled with time to cool off penciled in.