San Simeon Scenery

I look out the sliding door from the balcony of the hotel room in which Penny and I spent the short night and I see the marine layer over the Pacific Ocean on the coast of San Simeon, California.  It is beautiful, in an overcast and frigid sort of way, particularly for someone who lives in the Valley of the Sun! Penny and I arrived a few minutes after midnight from our journey across the desert via San Jose.  The Superintendent’s Retreat begins in earnest today.

 I fell asleep like a log last night (after the drive concluded).  I am looking forward to spending the day with Penny and my colleagues, but my mind will undoubtedly be drawn to the tasks that are beckoning me from Scottsdale.  I am aware that I need the time to refuel and perhaps this weekend will afford me that opportunity.  It will be nice to spend some unencumbered time over the Sabbath hours with Penny.  We all need to slow down occasionally (weekly?) to take stock and reprioritize our lives. 

I have a slew of emails and phone calls that cannot be ignored.  Teachers report to school on Monday.  Paperwork sits on three desks in Arizona.  Projects in various stages call for my attention.  Next week promises to be a hectic one as students begin to realize that they have not yet registered for school.

I feel guilty for not being at my post in Arizona.  So here I am feeling a bit melancholic as I type these lines while the mighty Pacific pounds against the shore a mere 50 yards from my balcony.  Thank you, Lord…but help me set aside my burdens long enough to be reminded that what I do is secondary to who I am.  Sadly, it is always a temptation to lose the latter as I seek to tackle the former.  Perhaps this is the reason God brought me here during the most hectic moment of the summer.  I’ll try to relax…wait, where’s my iPhone!