When is enough enough?

Warning: Ranting, complaining and a pity party going on here so read on if you're bored. I work too much. 12 hours a day every day is ridiculous. Some days is 13-15 hours. When is enough enough? Isn't there a saying you should "work to live" not "live to work?" I've been so unhappy lately and have been in tears every day this week.

Tomorrow a bunch of the teachers are heading up to Milwaukee for dinner, drinks, and spending the night to celebrate all the November Birthdays. I ask for off...."sorry, not possible, you need to be here until 8pm and be back at 7am on Friday." We are off of school for Veterans Day. So no birthday partying for Teacher Tori. But hey, at least I get to go to the huge annual pub crawl in the city....no wait, you have to work 5 hours Saturday morning and then you come back at 5pm to work an intersquad basketball scrimmage so you can't go downtown to your pub crawl that starts at 3pm. But the other trainers are...so let's screw Teacher Tori.

And then I see my teaching schedule has changed for second semester......all Health and no PE. Teaching the same thing 5 times a day is exhausting, boring and just plain sucks. A lot more grading too.

So my question is, at what point do you have to say, "enough is enough" and stop killing yourself for your career? I am so frustrated, tired and have NO social life anymore. I was asked if I wanted to go to the Bulls game tonight, nope sorry, have to work. Yes I have a morgage and bills to pay so I guess I'll have to live. I didn't realize how stressful it was last year b/c I had a loving boyfriend who was understanding and accomodating. Now that I'm single again and overworked, all I want to do is collapse on my couch.

I try to keep things in perspective. I think a lot about our soldiers over in Iraq, I always have. I think about how small that freaking pub crawl is in the grand scheme of things. That there are guys over there that would give anything just to be back home and I'm complaining how I can't go drink with my friends. So that helps a little. I guess I'm not meant to have a social life at this point in my life and I need to accept that. My 2 friends took me out to dinner last night and by the time I got there, they had already ate.......(relax you guys, its cool). I'm supposed to be at a political dinner as we speak for someone running for the US Congress.....practice ran long so I cannot go.

I'm a happy person and so sick of feeling and looking like someone just shot my dog. So I'm trying to figure out a way to turn all these negative feelings into something positive. I am attempting to organize a holiday care package drive for our entire high school of thousands for our troops in Iraq. I'd like to single out the Marines b/c they are my absolute favorite branch, but any soldier will do :) So maybe what little free time I do have isn't meant to spend drinking with friends, but helping the guys who help keep us safe every day. And that isn't so bad :)