Sunday, June 24, 2018

Tranquil Time?

I had really hoped that I would have more time to relax once I started working part time.  Yes, I imagined I would decompress more at camp, read and sip wine in my backyard, and just slow things down.  Alas, that has not been the case.

It seems that no matter how much extra time I think I have, there are chores, tasks, obligations and the like that seem to fill it all up.  In my fantasy world, I would get to spend time here and there at home in comfortable, clean clothes, sipping wine or tea, reading a book or playing my guitar.  Invariably, I am up and down the stairs, trying to time a load of laundry for optimal time efficiency while I run out to the store to grab what I need to make dinner.  I get dirt and spills on my shirt in the course of it all and turn into a housewife slob.


While I am working a shorter day, I don't take lunch.  That means an hour or so is spent after work exercising the dog, then I get home and need to eat.  But the time that is done, it's 4PM!  If things go well, TBG is home at 5:30.  So much for quite time in the yard -- once I get home, I've got stuff to do.

I am not knocking this at all!  When I worked full time, things just never got done and we were both stressed all of the time.  Things are much easier now.  TBG wants me to relax and tells me to slow down and that is something I am going to need to work on.  Maybe if I buy myself a pink gown and put an idyllic statue in the back yard, maybe with a fountain, I'll find some time of leisure.  Oh yeah, and there will be a unicorn there and fresh flowers strewn about.  I guess it's going to be a fantasy after all!

11 comments:

  1. Work expands to fill available time. Or something like that.

    Hopefully, you will come to a point when you really do have a tranquil time. If everything gets done by dinner, it seems you might snatch some of the remainder of the day for you. Maybe you could not do any housework on day of the week, one of the five. Then you could change into the pink gown and go out side. Won't mosquitoes eat you alive?

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    1. I did have a lot done by dinner tonight so we sat outside for dessert and that was nice. I should pick a day where I don't create any obligations for myself. I am happy that I can generally sleep in late on Friday. So that is a start!

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  2. I'm off for the summer now, but when I go back to work, my day is pretty much exactly how you described yours. I'm an early riser, so my quiet/me time is in the wee hours. Not long after dinner, I'm in bed, whereas most people still have a few hours left to do things or just watch some tv.

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    1. It would be better if I was an early riser for sure! Once it gets really hot, I might try that on days that I plan to walk. It helps that it is cooler then. I like to get to bed early, but I don't often succeed!

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  3. I work from home and sometimes find the same thing (except I put in laundry whenever I want but sometimes if we're busy it takes a while to get it out of the dryer. Still errands, still sometimes working evenings and weekends when we are super busy. I think that is just life. Perhaps though you can make a date with your self to do something fun ie set aside 2-3 hours and plan to read in your garden and sip wine those days? Or whatever?

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    1. I have a few craft projects I'd love to set aside time to do. I do find that I have more time on rainy days. How horrible is it that sometimes I hope it will rain???!!!

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  4. Well, I don't even have a job anymore, and I still feel like I spend most of my days racing against the clock. Today: Get up, gotta feed the little feral outside, feed my boys, fill the bird and squirrel feeders, take in the garbage cans (mine and my elderly neighbor's) clean the kitchen after last night's movie night, make breakfast, do some quick bike maintenance, go for a ride with CatMan, take a shower, feed & walk the neighbor's dogs, feed the feral again, make dinner, feed my boys, watch a little news, goodnight phone call to CatMan, go to bed. Somewhere in there I need to vacuum and hopefully do a tiny bit of work - to say nothing of the many projects that I have been avoiding either starting or finishing. Hmmm....

    Years ago I heard a comic twist on the laws of thermodynamics - only these were the laws of stuff. I can't remember them all, but the one that stuck with me was: Stuff expands to fill the space allotted. I think the same thing applies to chores and time. Chores expand to fill the space allotted. Ha! Just read Linda's comment above and she nailed it!

    CatMan says it's me, and I just need to learn how to relax. Perhaps I just need to accept the reality that "done" is a mythical state that can never be achieved as long as we're alive. So I guess the moral is, don't wait until you're "done" to relax, because if you do, you'll never get to relax until you're dead!

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    1. I think CatMan and The Big Guy need to form some sort of support group. TBG tells me the same thing. Some evenings, he even says "will you sit down already?"

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  5. No "Harlequin Romance" here either. But I guess that's what dreams are for, they're not all bad. I've done the same thing telling myself - When the kids leave home, When I am my own boss....nope.

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    1. It helps to know I am not the only one. Many years ago, the actress Jane Seymore wrote "Jane Seymore's Guide to Romantic Living." If you can find it, it is a hoot. It is so funny (which of course was not her intention). My favorite quote which we use often here at Chez Petite is, "It's petty and unreasonable to expect to do it all when you can afford help." Saying that always seems to cheer me up...

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    2. That's a good one, I'll have to remember it. And if I find that book at a thrift (because, well, you know) then I will get it for some entertainment.

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