Warranted

I am pretty tired today. It seems like I have a lot going on right now – nothing too intense – just a lot of little things. Work is busy, my students are starting to become stressed as midterms approach, and I have a lot going on at home too. For the most part, everything is happening at separate paces so it seems like I am only faced with one task at a time. For example, when I have to complete an assessment at work, I do not seem to be bombarded with student e-mails, when I receive an influx of student concerns, I seem to have a break at my day job, etc.

Overall, I think that I am able to balance the demands of my life pretty well. I am skilled at multi-tasking. I seem to be able to attend to multiple tasks, address others’ needs, and remain fairly focused without too much of a struggle. My success at accomplishing things seems to hinge on my awareness of what I need to complete, appropriate planning, and my willingness to be flexible. Of those, the last is the most crucial aspect of getting through the day. It is imperative that I am able to re-evaluate my priorities as situations arise. I must be able to formulate a “Plan B” at a moment’s notice. In many ways, I tend to plan for the unexpected. I go to work each day knowing that chances are that I will not follow my calendar. My appointments will alter. I will be required to respond to unforeseen situations. It is all a part of the job.

When my phone rang rather late the other night, I was hardly surprised. Such an occurrence is rather typical of my life. Sometimes J calls in the middle of his shift. Sometimes people see stories on the news and call to ensure that J is okay. Sometimes people call from work (thinking that I am on-call when I no longer am – hooray for me!). There are always the occasional drunk-dialers too. As I grabbed the phone, I did not recognize the number. I decided, “What the hell?” and answered it. On the other end of the line was one of my little cousins.

He called to tell me that his grandfather (from the other side of the family) was not doing well. He has been in the hospital for quite some time and appeared to be taking a turn for the worst. They placed him on a respirator. My cousin feared that his grandfather was about to die.

I am not really sure of the purpose of my cousin’s call. I listened to him (and his brother and sister) and validated their concerns. At the time of their call, their mother was at the hospital and their father was asleep (as he was to take over at the hospital only a few hours later). I think that the three of them were just sitting in a room letting their imaginations get the best of them. I am not sure.

The call was brief. I did what I could to comfort the three and told them to make sure to get rest so that they would be ready to see their grandfather in the morning. I told them to call if they needed anything or just wanted to talk again.

As I hung up the phone, I hesitated for a moment. I thought about calling my aunt or uncle on their cell phones to let them know that their children were scared, as I was not sure if my cousins expressed their thoughts to their parents. Due to my cousins’ ages, it is sometimes hard to determine what to tell them and what to keep from them. They are now old enough to know when something is wrong, but still young enough that one wants to shield them from unnecessary turmoil. At the end, I decided not to call my aunt and uncle. I decided to mind my own business. I also did not want to get my cousins in trouble for calling me at such an obscene time of night (as my aunt and uncle are polite and probably would not be impressed with them disrupting others’ sleep).

I am not sure if the call made a difference in my cousins’ lives. I hope that it offered them a little bit of comfort. I wish that I could have done more for them at that moment (I actually thought about going to their house to distract them, offering to take them to see their grandfather, etc.). I am glad, however, that they felt comfortable in calling me. I am glad that they know that despite the fact that we rarely see each other, I do care and am around when they need me. I am glad that they reached out. I hope that they continue to do the same if warranted in the future.


Update: My cousin called back at 5:30 the next morning. His grandfather made it through the night. Since then, he was taken off the respirator. Things seem to be improving greatly. My cousins appear to be relieved.