Bittersweet calm

 
Most people that enjoy all the Festival activities do not realize the amount of work that goes in behind the scenes.  From about February until Derby, we have numerous members of our staff working on the various Derby Festival pieces.   It also means crazy non-stop days and late nights for me.   We have just completed the 2011 Festival and I am now trying to adjust to a normal working pace.  But how?
Most people ask, “aren’t you excited for things to calm down a bit?”
While it is nice to get back to a somewhat normal work life, the first couple weeks are hard.  I find myself still running around like crazy trying to get things done, only to realize that I don’t need to be because these things aren’t due that day.  I still have the mind-set that everything is HOT and urgent.   I really have to work at slowing myself down and changing paces.
I now have evenings free, but in the first couple of weeks I find myself sitting on my couch at night, not sure what to do with myself.   I sit there thinking I need to be working or that something needs to be sent to the client.
The biggest thing for me to get through festival is organization and lists.  Not only for work, but for my “to do” list in my personal life also.   Each week I make a list of what I need to do at work, when it needs to be done and also things I need to do for myself and scheduling time to do them.  Once festival is over I don’t have to be so precise about my schedule, since I can now leave work at a normal time, my nights are free to get things on my personal to do list done.
The weirdest thing for me is the feeling of emptiness.  To go so fast pace for so long and then, bam, one day it stops, leaves me feeling quite empty inside.  The late nights and the crazy days are so worth it for the short amount of time to make our client happy and to help them create a great festival for everyone. Now that I am close to the two week mark of the conclusion of the Festival, I am almost back to normal…but the feeling is still bittersweet.