Still no incoming calls here regarding Michelle, but Hardi did just issue an outgoing cell call letting Bonnie (her mom) know that Michelle and she are still in "our" prayers (which Michelle and perhaps Bonnie will understand includes all of her MudBuds), and inviting a callback when she is ready to let "us" know anything. (They know Friday is technically a day off and they may be holding calls for that reason.)

For Animaterra-- this is typical of how a day off is never really a day off unless we fall off the planet for 3 or more weeks.

It's also typical of funeral pastoral care-- because Michelle's surgery is, for us, squeezed in between two funerals this week and the beyond-funeral "work" time I have written about in the past at Mudcat (see "funeral" as a subject line in an individual post); one of the funerals being a good friend of ours tomorrow where Hardi will also have a liturgical role and I a pastoral care role, and the other one he conducted (and I co-pastored the peeps).

On top of that affecting HIS day off, MY "day off" includes wifing his diabetic care and all the co-pastoring related to Michelle's surgery (hello!) at Mudcat and IRL, much of which is "invisible."

My guideline for how we are doing (effectiveness vs burnout) is that people know who to call. They call, here in this culture, only people they know are actually up to a task. And our phone is still ringing more than we would like it to, because so few of the calls are friends or fun. Fulfilling-- but not fun. Nice people-- but not friends.

Fun and friends is time I am working on increasing during my "slowdown." (THIS IS SLOWDOWN, believe it or not.)

~Susan