Why my brain is so tired

I've already admitted that I'm a working mom (please don't hate me), but I have not explained why I live with 29 teenage girls. My husband and I work at a co-ed boarding school, and I am a House Mom for one of the girls' dorms. I have been "living" this job for 5 years now. For the first 3 years, I was in a boys' dorm. At that point, our family had just outgrown the apartment that went with that dorm, and we got the opportunity to move to a much bigger apartment in one of the girls' dorms. I bet I've been asked 300 times which I liked better--boys or girls. Both definitely have their advantages and disadvantages. For example:

1. Boys are very stinky--girls almost always smell nice!
2. Boys are rowdy--girls don't generally wrestle in the halls, give each other wedgies, play soccer in their rooms, have video game tournaments, or break...everything they touch.
3. Boys are messy--you wouldn't believe the conditions their rooms were in if I told you--Girls can be messy too, but for the most part, they like for things to look nice.

However...

1. Girls have DRAMA--Let me say it again--Girls have DRAMA. The tears never stop flowing around here. Seriously, someone is ALWAYS cyring over something. The only time I EVER had one of the boys cry was when they knew they were in seriously, seriously deep trouble and had to call and tell their parents about it. Luckily this wasn't that often, so not many tears shed in the boys' dorm.
2. Girls are needy. A crisis for a girl (meaning a good reason to call me or ring my doorbell at 2 a.m.) could be anything from a boyfriend issue (slightly legitimate) to a broken fingernail without a nail file in sight (not a good reason to wake up a sleeping pregnant woman). Boys just don't get worked up over this stuff that often, and if they do, they will definitely wait until the sun comes up to talk to you about it.
3. Some girls have "issues" with their mothers. This translates into "issues" with their house mother sometimes. The girls adore my husband and think he hung the moon. I, meanwhile, get dirty looks if I don't answer my cell phone (provided by the school to be SURE the kids have 24/7 access to me) on the first ring. What, do I think they have all day to sit around waiting for me to attend to their needs??? The nerve of me. Boys on the other hand generally love their mothers, which means they find it pretty easy to love their house mother. I got a lot more love and affirmation from the boys than I do from the girls for sure. And those poor boys actually had to put up with me while I was pregnant with TWINS. The girls have only had to deal with a singleton pregnancy.

Actaully, at the end of the day I can't say that I like either one better than the other. They are both lots of fun most of the time. And they both leave me exhausted in totally different ways. The girl drama has been as thick as I've ever seen it around here this past week, and I am just plain worn out by it. I hope this upcoming week will be better. Some sleep would surely be good for all of us (especially the pregnant lady).

In addition to the House Mother role, this year I have taken on a new responsibility. I am coordinating the spiritual life programming for the school. This means I am in charge of planning 2 chapel services a week (one for the whole school,day and boarding, and one just for boarding students), a bible study, and in interfaith discussion group where kids from different faith traditions can share what they believe in a safe and respectful environment. Did I know that I was going to be pregnant when I took on this new role? Definitely....NO. Still, we are making it work. My husband is wonderful and supports my dual roles here (he also teaches history full time), and we have the best babysitter in the world (really--God sent her straight from heaven to our family), plus my mom lives in town. And because I live and work in the same place and my schedule is flexible (if a bit hectic sometimes), I actually get to spend far more time with my kids than the average working mom. I am always able to go to their schools for parties, plays, etc. And I even get a moment to myself in the mid-mornings most days of the week. Still, I worry that I am shortchanging my own little ones sometimes. I pray constantly that God will show me if I am doing too much to the detriment of our family. Meanwhile, I am also praying for the strength, wisdom, and patience to serve in my current roles here at school. I am constantly reminded that our family is truly living a ministry by former and current students telling me that we have made a difference in their lives. Whether they just needed a stable family life, or something deeper and more spiritual, we have been so blessed to serve so many young people over the years. I hope our children will grow to feel a part of that "ministry" and value it like we do.

Enough rambling...time to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!