Sunday, May 30, 2010

On the lack of time

"So much to do - so little time to do it in!"
~Cecil Rhodes
If anyone knows about the lack of time it's likely this man.  Cecil formed the De Beers Mining Company with the De Beers brothers only to die at 49 due to complications from his tubercular lung condition.  The original quote is much longer than this  ...something about..."life is short, the art is long, opportunity fleeting..." but it was shortened.  Ah the things you learn when you google a popular quote. 

The matter of time has plagued my daily life lately, especially weeknight evenings.  I come home and make a healthy meal for my family and before I know it, it's bedtime for the kids and shortly thereafter, bedime for myself as well.  I get about 4.5 hours in the evenings...and only about 3 of those hours are with my kids.  This is why they go to bed at 8:30-9pm......so I can see them for 3+ hours a night!  My sister in law stays at home with her kids and they go to bed at 7-8pm.  I know exactly why...because she will see them all day the next day so there is no reason for them to be up later than that time.  But I digress.  My daily struggle is what to do with that precious time.  Besides cooking, cleaning up, unpacking and packing lunches, baths etc. what am I to do with that whole 1-2 hours an evening I get to myself?  I usually do more chores and read a book before bed.  My mother thinks I should do more laundry and sometimes I do make a point of putting the stuff away instead of flaking in front of the computer or tv.  I think I should be finding time to exercise.  Part of me thinks I just need to organize my time better or be more productive with the time I have, and the other part thinks - slow down, you do enough!  Amber Strocel is encouraging everyone who reads her blog to write about Awesomeness.  And without changing my topic of this post, I'd have to say that I am an awesome mom.  I git er done.  I am an amazing multitasker.  My kids are polite, sweet, smart and confident.  I always find time to tell them about their own awesomeness.  And dang it, I may not have much time but I am still able to be a great mom to them. 



A lot of the challenge I have with time is deciding how it's spent.  It comes down to our own perspective of busy.  For example, I'm writing this blog, but also getting cereal for the kids, putting bacon in the oven, letting the dog out and planning my day in my head.  It's Sunday and after I'm done whining about time, I'm going to make french toast, call a friend, get the kids ready, a lunch ready and take them to a splash pad/playground for a picnic.  I should be finishing the laundry, vacuuming and planting my garden today - and it still might get done - but I have to prioritize.  Most of my fight with time is deciding what's going to win, the chores or the fun.  And quite honestly, life is too short and the fun usually wins.

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