Do you ever feel like you have so much to do and so little time to do it? I do, and it got me thinking about what was I doing with all of my time?
I don't know about you but there are times when I get resentful of the demands placed on me by others. It's one of the reasons I don't have a lot of really close friends. They might have expectations of me that I can't and sometimes don't even want to fulfill.
My husband and I are impressed by the amount of social activity engaged in by our friends. They're busy all the time with one activity or the other. Fortunately, he's like me in that he admits to being selfish about his time. The thought of going out several nights a week, or spending every weekend hanging out with friends overwhelms us. We both need time to do the things we love, the things that recharge our batteries.
For him it's working in the garden, hanging out and doing sports with our son, fly fishing, and music. For me it's quilting, art, and writing....and of course, hanging out with my family.
What I find frustrating is when I get so busy doing things I don't really want to do but are committed to doing, that I can't find time to do the things I really want to do. Of course, one of the main things is housework, which everyone hates. It isn't that it's difficult or not satisfying, (everyone loves a clean house!), it's just that it's too easy for me to find an excuse not to do it as often as I should. And you know how that goes, putting cleaning off just makes it worse, and then you have a real mess to clean up which just makes you hate cleaning even more than you did before.
When I worked full time and had a young son at home I somehow managed to get more done. Part of that could be that I was younger and had more energy, but I think a large part of it is that I had to manage my time better, so I did. Now that I'm home all the time, I find it more difficult to separate my "work" from my family and my fun. I find myself writing articles while everyone else is watching TV, or working on designs when I should be cleaning the bathrooms, or checking email when I should be chatting with my son about his day.
I've been making more of an effort to schedule my days so I can get everything done, but the days seem to be getting shorter, or I'm moving slower, or I'm procrastinating more than ever, so I keep sliding back into my bad habits.
Those of us who have lives we're trying to lead while trying to make quilts often have a hard time reconciling the two. There are some things that I do that work, and others I need to work on.
I don't bring sewing or reading with me in the car anymore. I used to use trips as a way to clear away some work, but now I treasure those trips as a great opportunity to chat with my husband. It's "alone" time we don't get enough of. I used to make a point of not bringing work along to my son's sports practices and games. I usually spent that time watching him and chatting with the other parents. I found it recharged my batteries and sometimes I would get great ideas while I was sitting on the grass watching the boys take batting practice. We all need down time so try to find some activities you have to be a part of and just enjoy them. Grab those moments with family and friends when you can.
I do need to work on wasting too much time on the internet. I tend to get lost sometimes, something pops into my head, I search for it, then I end up going off on all kinds of weird tangents before realizing that I just spent an hour doing nothing productive. I don't watch TV much, but I think I need to get off the laptop more often, it can be just as addictive.
Now that we live in the country I get distracted by what's going on outside. Flocks of turkeys and does with their fawns are among my favorite things to watch. Last year my husband and I sat and watched several fawns frolic in the glade behind our house. They were having a blast!
Finding time to quilt can be hard, but not spending time doing other things you enjoy isn't good either. I think all of us have to figure out what works for us.
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