The most wonderful time of the year?

So the holidays are approaching, which means that the term is drawing to a close. Which means that I have a tremendous amount of work that somehow has to get done within about two weeks.

I'm not sure exactly how I evaded this realization until this morning: after all, Christmas/Hanukkah displays have been blossoming like Magic Grow sponge animals since the beginning of last month, overtaking more and more of the grocery store aisles. But, for whatever reason, I woke up this morning to a clammy feeling of panic. Maybe it's because I agreed to cover a co-worker's shift as she prepares to defend her prospectus, which means that I lose one of my two paltry "me-days" this week, just when I desperately need it.

Dr. V. very truthfully warned me that I had to figure out how to be "diva-like" about my work this year, and she's right. Thing is, it's pretty much impossible for me to be a diva. I just can't seem to do it at all. Nearly anytime anybody wants pretty much anything from me I will go out of my way to do it. Even worse, I constantly offer help to people who haven't even asked for it. It's crazy. I really, truly have to stop trying to be all I can be to everybody other than myself. Because, if I don't, it could cost me my career as well as my sanity.

So if anybody has advice about how I might try to escape my birth order, stop being the entire world's Big Sister, and find my inner Greta Garbo, I'd appreciate hearing it.

I was just beginning to get a little caught up on the tremendous backlog of emails and personal business that built up since this summer, but I'm going to have to switch gears all over again. So if you've sent me an as-yet-unanswered email recently, it's probably going to be longer still before I can get back to you, and I'm sorry.