Making Time

The Time Crunch

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”
Life’s Little Lesson Book

I just found the gas bill among the stacks on my desk—from March! If it’s not paid by 4:30 on Monday, my gas will be cut off. It must be time to clean off the desk. I have the really bad habit of doing what I want to do instead of what I need to do. I use the old Scarlett O’Hara defense: ‘There’s always tomorrow, Rhett.’ I hate being responsible, don’t you?

I really don’t like doing housework and other necessary chores any more. I used to keep a pretty neat house, and cook everyday, and take care of the bills on time. I used to have time for all that. Now, in my dotage, all I want to do is play. This must be what they mean by ‘she’s in her second childhood.’ I figure since my first childhood was just so-so, I should have another shot at it. I just want to write about Old Crazy Town and play with fabrics. Let the grown-ups pay the gas bill; I don’t have time.

It seems as though the ‘not enough time’ issue has been on my mind this week. I’ve now written about it twice. Maybe that’s because it has become the motto of our culture. “Oh, I can’t meet you for coffee. I’m crazy busy.” “I don’t have time to exercise. We’re really slammed at work.” It’s the ruler by which we measure our importance. Meanwhile life ticks along toward the great abyss and all the things we wish we had done fall by the wayside—like paying the gas bill and making time for friends.

I ran across a good quote from Karen Lamb this morning: “A year from now, you’ll wish you had started today.” I’m going to think about that while I’m cleaning off my desk. And the next time I hear myself say, ‘I don’t have time,’ I’ll bite my tongue.

In the spirit,
Jane