I think there used to be a commercial -- for a watch, I assume -- that said, "Give the gift of time." That's what I want. I want someone to give me the gift of time.
June, July and August have been a bit bizarre -- a good kind of bizarre, because I got my house cleaned from top to bottom and a wonderful visit with my son and daughter-in-law -- but still, bizarre time-wise. I babysat 5 days a week for 3 weeks running in late June and July, then spent 10 days Spring Cleaning my house (more for me than for my guests, since I know they were coming to see us, not how clean our house is!), then more babysitting, some scheduled visits with friends, a weekend away, and now a bit extra babysitting while daughter Mary is recovering from having 4 wisdom teeth pulled.
I don't know how women who work fulltime get everything done. Oh, I know I did it when I had to - worked from 6:30 am to 3:30 pm, took care of my kids, kept my house clean, got the shopping done and even had time to be a Brownie Leader and volunteer at the kids' school! I remember getting up at 4:30 every morning so I could get laundry in the washer before I left for work at 6am, packing lunches at night so I didn't have to do it in the morning, cleaning house on weekends. I know it can be done, but I did my time. That phase of my life is over and it's time to move on to bigger and better things!
For me, "alone time" is a must-have. I treasure those days when I have nothing scheduled, a clean house, and no one asking me or expecting me to do a darn thing. Those are the days I spending quilting or sewing, or reading, or heck, I've spent entire days in front of the computer reading blogs or just playing games! And I love my "alone time".
Aside from one or two days in the past six weeks, I haven't had much alone time -- and I'm craving it! I've got some new fabric in to start my Christmas projects, I've got unfinished projects I want to get done, I have audio books that are calling my name, and other books that want to nestle in my lap while I sit outside on the deck with a glass of iced tea. Hmmmmm....heaven.
I wouldn't change any of my days in the past six weeks. I enjoyed every minute with my grandson, and most certainly loved every minute of visiting with my son and his wife. I don't regret spending almost two weeks Spring Cleaning my house, and I'm glad I could be there today for my daughter so she can rest and recoup from her oral surgery. No regrets.... just a bit of wistfulness.
Jeff is going away on business the last week of this month, and I am declaring to the world that I am going on vacation -- right here, in my house, with no plans, no babysitting, no cooking, no cleaning and minimal blogging and computer time. I'm going to get up when I feel like it, go to bed when I feel like it, eat when I feel like it, go out when I feel like it, nap when I feel like it, answer the phone when I feel like it -- ahhh...doesn't that sound like heaven?
I think all women need "alone time". Probably men too, but women definitely. We spend so much of our time taking care of others, helping others, doing for others, that time for ourselves is always on the back burner. Whether it's 15 minutes a day, or an entire week like I'm going to have -- it restores your soul and reminds you that there's more to life than caring for others and cleaning house and working.
Do you get any time for yourself? And if YOU had a week alone, how would you spend it?
Aug 11, 2008
I'd like the gift of time
I think there used to be a commercial -- for a watch, I assume -- that said, "Give the gift of time." That's what I want. I want someone to give me the gift of time.
June, July and August have been a bit bizarre -- a good kind of bizarre, because I got my house cleaned from top to bottom and a wonderful visit with my son and daughter-in-law -- but still, bizarre time-wise. I babysat 5 days a week for 3 weeks running in late June and July, then spent 10 days Spring Cleaning my house (more for me than for my guests, since I know they were coming to see us, not how clean our house is!), then more babysitting, some scheduled visits with friends, a weekend away, and now a bit extra babysitting while daughter Mary is recovering from having 4 wisdom teeth pulled.
I don't know how women who work fulltime get everything done. Oh, I know I did it when I had to - worked from 6:30 am to 3:30 pm, took care of my kids, kept my house clean, got the shopping done and even had time to be a Brownie Leader and volunteer at the kids' school! I remember getting up at 4:30 every morning so I could get laundry in the washer before I left for work at 6am, packing lunches at night so I didn't have to do it in the morning, cleaning house on weekends. I know it can be done, but I did my time. That phase of my life is over and it's time to move on to bigger and better things!
For me, "alone time" is a must-have. I treasure those days when I have nothing scheduled, a clean house, and no one asking me or expecting me to do a darn thing. Those are the days I spending quilting or sewing, or reading, or heck, I've spent entire days in front of the computer reading blogs or just playing games! And I love my "alone time".
Aside from one or two days in the past six weeks, I haven't had much alone time -- and I'm craving it! I've got some new fabric in to start my Christmas projects, I've got unfinished projects I want to get done, I have audio books that are calling my name, and other books that want to nestle in my lap while I sit outside on the deck with a glass of iced tea. Hmmmmm....heaven.
I wouldn't change any of my days in the past six weeks. I enjoyed every minute with my grandson, and most certainly loved every minute of visiting with my son and his wife. I don't regret spending almost two weeks Spring Cleaning my house, and I'm glad I could be there today for my daughter so she can rest and recoup from her oral surgery. No regrets.... just a bit of wistfulness.
Jeff is going away on business the last week of this month, and I am declaring to the world that I am going on vacation -- right here, in my house, with no plans, no babysitting, no cooking, no cleaning and minimal blogging and computer time. I'm going to get up when I feel like it, go to bed when I feel like it, eat when I feel like it, go out when I feel like it, nap when I feel like it, answer the phone when I feel like it -- ahhh...doesn't that sound like heaven?
I think all women need "alone time". Probably men too, but women definitely. We spend so much of our time taking care of others, helping others, doing for others, that time for ourselves is always on the back burner. Whether it's 15 minutes a day, or an entire week like I'm going to have -- it restores your soul and reminds you that there's more to life than caring for others and cleaning house and working.
Do you get any time for yourself? And if YOU had a week alone, how would you spend it?
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6 comments:
I would sit in my comfy chair in the little grove of trees in the back yard - with a glass of iced tea, some lemon cookies dipped in powdered sugar and some handwork. I'd watch the birds and squirrels and deer as they all want to come to the bird feeders. I'd listen to the breeze in the trees across the road, I'd listen to the children playing at the lake.
Then I might read a book - or wander barefoot all over the house on my brand new soft carpet. I'd invite the grandsons up to play in the yard and I'd order a pizza for dinner - covered in sausages (one grandson calls them meatballs and wants to pick them off my pizza - and he is allowed to) onions and pineapple.
I'd sip Sleepy Time Tea with Don, in the grove, as the evening comes in and the birds settle down.
Then I'd repeat it every day - over and over, until I was so soaked in luxury that I'd be happy to go back among the rest of the world.
Ahhhh...that made me feel more relaxed just reading it! Thanks for sharing!
Funny you mention alone time - the hubby goes hunting every year for a week - and I cannot wait for him to go - I take the same week off (the week after Thanksgiving) and do all my christmas decorating, baking, sewing and plain old me time while the kids are in school - I love it.
You bring up some interesting questions. For the most part, I don't really feel like I need alone time. Most of my day is spent in front of the computer, quietly working, so even after work I don't feel like I need any time alone. However, my customer service jobs in the past left me drained and needing time to be alone with my thoughts.
And I'll take a week away somewhere with Jeff! If I stayed home, I would work on home projects or clean (not necessarily a bad thing...), but a true vacation for me/us would be to go somewhere else entirely.
Maybe it is just me, but I think most of us have time in each of our given days to enjoy activities for ourselves. Oftentimes, we just don't revel in all that we do! Whether it is that nice cup of coffee you have with your morning paper, the 1/2 hour walk around the park, playing with your kids blowing bubbles, soaking in the tub at night, listening to music in the car...don't we get sometime for ourself? Much of our days are filled with "stuff" we must do to make a living or are necessary, but certainly not all of it. Personally, I wouldn't want a week to myself unless it was taking a very interesting class. I like to travel also! No "staycations" for me!
I understand what you're saying and yes, we can all grab snippets of time here and there to enjoy the moment. I agree! But for me, uninterupted time - time with no immediate upcoming expectations or must-do's - is few and far between. Seize the moment? Absolutely! But seize a whole day?! That's few and far between!
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