Home Alone

I’ve been abandoned, Beata has taken the two boys off to Poland to see her family, and left me for three weeks on my own. It is a very strange experience being in the house on my own, even when I’m busy working (which seems to be most of the time), it’s nice to know that my family are there. Now that they are not here, it’s almost as though the heart has been taken out of the house. Fortunately I’m still able to keep in touch with them via the phone, although Tomek, who normally loves talking on the phone didn’t want to speak to his dad yesterday because he was more interested in playing with grandpa! The church have been really supportive, and several people have invited me out for meals, and so I’ve been deeply touched by the love and kindness that I’ve been shown. But I have a suspicion that some people wonder how on earth I’ll manage being on my own for such a long time. What they don’t realise is that I did spend two years living on my own before I got married, and that I’m pretty good at most things, although I refuse to do ironing. In actual fact, until very recently I did the majority of the cooking at home.

Having the family away makes me realise just how important they are to me, and how I need to ensure that I spend more time with them when they are hear. The nature of my work is such that there is always something that needs to be done, there is no end to the work, I’m constantly working to one deadline after another, there are always people he need to be visited, and it’s very easy to work every single hour of the day (which is what a lot of clergy do). It’s not uncommon for clergy to work 60-70 hour weeks, although this is not good for them or for their families. I think working from home does not make the situation any easier, because your home is your office. There have been many times when I’ve wished that I could do a normal 9-5 job, so that when I get home in the evening I can switch off from work. Having said all this, the work I do is very diverse and interesting, and you never know what to expect, and it can be immensley rewarding work, helping people in need, being able to share your faith, and talk to people about God. For example, looking back at this week, I’ve been into two schools to do assemblies, which I always love doing, I’ve spent quite a lot of time preparing for Sunday, I had to help a chap who’s fallen on hard times, I’ve visited a parishoners husband who has terminal cancer, etc., etc. Each day is different, and that is what makes being in ministry so interesting and rewarding, all I wish is that my family where back from Poland (or that I could be with them)