I love my job.
I love talking with Soldiers. Lately, I've been doing that a lot -- sometimes late into the night, and at times from the middle of the night onward.
But even when that happens, as it did recently, I still find myself grateful for this opportunity to be of service.
While I was giving the final exam in my "Contemporary Moral Issues" course, I took off to the gym while my students dealt with their "Adventure in Learning." (I suppose it's just a tad 'over the top' to name my exams "Adventures in Learning," but I've been doing that for at least twenty-five years now.)
I only had 35 minutes for the cross-trainer and 35 minutes for the treadmill, so I tried to make the most of so little time. I was fairly successful, because I left the gym exhausted. I returned to the classroom in time to collect up the exams, and was surprised to find that some of my students seemed to be sweating almost as much as I was.
I then managed to get to bed by 2330, which was doing pretty well for me. I very much looked forward to a good six hours of shut-eye. Mmmmmmm.
I think my cell phone had only rung a couple of times when I answered it, though I was in a pretty deep sleep, I suspect, so I could be wrong on that account. The young man on the other end of the line informed me that we'd received a Red Cross Message, and told me the gist of the communiqué.
I knew I'd have to get up and move out, but as it felt as though it was almost time to get up anyway, that wasn't such a bad thing.
Until I looked at the phone.
I did a double-take, and looked again at it. I then stared at the large, old-fashioned school-room clock on my hooch wall.
0119
That's right. I'd not even been asleep two hours yet.
By the time I got back to my room, it was after 3 a.m., and as tired as I'd been only a few hours earlier, I took quite a while to fall asleep again. There was no way I could skip the bright-and-early morning meeting a few hours later, so when the alarm assaulted me soon thereafter, I was up-and-at-'em.
I wouldn't trade the chance to have done what I did in the middle of that night for anything.
I love my job!
I'm very grateful for the chance to be of service.
Blessings and peace to one and all,
Fr. Tim, SJ
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1 comment:
I just got caught up reading your blog Tim. I've been sick and traveling a bit so I got behind. I've spent that last hour or so in "Adventures in Kosovo." What a great gift you have given us by allowing us to share in your journey. Not just the events but the very human emotions within them. Bless you for your curiosity and your ability to connect with others in a very real and in depth way. I love you Tim. Thank you.
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