Time, oh give me Time...

Where does the time go??

That’s something I ask myself (and any unassuming passersby) every so often. It seems that no matter what time you get up in the morning or how late you stay up at night, there are never enough hours in the day to do all that you need – or want – to get done. Sure, several hours of the day are taken up by “workin’ for the man”, and these can be viewed as productive, or not…but what about all that other “time”? Say that you spend 8.5 to 9 hours at work each day…we’ll say 9 for all intents & purposes. 9 hours out of 24…gone. That leaves 15 hours to do everything else. Ok, so you probably should sleep during some of that…so let’s say you sleep 7 hours out of that (I know that’s more than some folks get, and less than others, but let’s just say…”for instance”). 7 hours out of 15…that leaves you with a final number of 8 hours to do whatever it is you have to do in your day. 8 hours. Of course that’s just on the workdays. On your days off, you should have a majority of the 24 hours in a day to do what needs to be done.

Now what usually needs to be done in a week in the life? Well, that depends on what stage of life you are in. As an adult though, usually that week will basically include: going to the grocery store, doing laundry, doing dishes, cooking meals, and various light housework duties. Now all of that combined doesn’t take “that” long normally, especially if you own a dishwasher and a clothes washer & dryer set. That leaves quite a few hours in the week to do whatever it is you want to do. But, still…we don’t have enough time!

Several years ago, I was walking through the Ohio Historical Society’s museum in Columbus, Ohio with one of my closest friends. We were admiring some beautiful quilts made by women back in the 1800’s…pioneer times in Ohio. The quilts were gorgeous. Very intricate threadwork…each one had to have taken weeks to make. These were all done by hand, probably by candlelight. I remember saying something like, ‘I don’t get it…how the heck did they have the time to do all this? I mean, they had to do the cooking over a fire. They had to do the washing BY HAND. They had to keep house, mend clothing (heck, they probably were sewing the clothing in the first place), and raise children. Most of them lived on farms, so they had to help out there too. They probably had to tend to chickens and other livestock…HOW could they POSSIBLY find the time to do such delicate, intricate work on these quilts?!’

I don’t have that much to do. I don’t have to do my laundry out of a washtub. I don’t have to clean my dishes by hand (unless I want to, or if the dishwasher is on the fritz). I run to the store if I need new clothes…I don’t have to sew them myself. Still…I don’t find the time to sew a quilt. Ok, not that I would really want to, but still. I have a huge box full of old photos that I’ve been trying to catalog. I’ve got genealogical research that I’ve been trying to do on my family tree. I’ve got a shelf full of books that I have been trying to read for months. I can’t find the time. So how did these ladies find the time to sew such fine pieces? I mean, they didn’t have the modern conveniences that we have to help them out, right? To quote the character “Yente” from Fiddler on the Roof, “Of course, right!”

But then, just how convenient are our conveniences? Cars, cell phones, internet, computers, television, washers, dryers, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners…all are designed to make our lives easier…to give us more time. But they also take away our time. How many hours are spent by the average American family actually talking to each other? How many hours are spent by the same family in front of the television? Or in front of the computer?

I believe…in order for us to actually “find the time”, we have to slow down and “make the time”. Only then will we actually get things done…and start enjoying life rather than watching it fly by.

"All my possessions for a moment of time." ~ Elizabeth I (1533-1603)

Hello...again...hello!

Ok, ok…yeah, I know.

I’ve tried this before. I’ve tried and I’ve failed. Miserably. I am always amazed and full of admiration of people who can faithfully blog. By faithfully, I mean at least once a month. Me? I tried blogging once a week, month…year. I always end up forgetting about it or – even worse – having nothing to say! I was thinking to myself…how sad is that? To not have anything at all to say…ever! Is my life that mundane & boring? HA! No. Not at all. Sure I’m not climbing Mount Everest or finding the cure for cancer, but I’m usually busy, so why can’t I figure out what to write?

Perhaps my idea of what a blog should be is wrong. A blog doesn’t have to be always witty, always teaching, always insightful and full of wisdom. Not all the time. And perhaps out of some of the most mundane entries, some enlightenment can be found.

Or not.

Does it matter?

So here goes…my blog 2.0.

Or is it 3.0?

Eh, who cares.

These are my musings. Take them for what they’re worth.

(And thank you, Neil Diamond for the title of this blog posting. I will have that song in my head for the rest of the day. Greeeaaaat.)


"Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about." ~ Oscar Wilde