Wasting Away

I wish this posting were about wasting away to nothing because I’ve been dieting for the past 11 months. Alas, it is not. I’m blogging about wasting time. Or maybe I haven’t really wasted time at all…

Ever since arriving home on August 14th from three weeks doing plenty of work and a little play, plus 1,200 miles on my CRV, I’ve been tired. I hit the ground running, the day I left home for my trip and kept up a pace that was more difficult than I’m used to. Now that I’m home, I’ve unpacked and put the suitcases away. Laundry has been caught up and the house none too worse for the wear from my husband’s ‘bachelor-days’ with only a toy poodle for company. He saved all the daily newspapers that were delivered for three weeks…just in case I wanted to peruse them. Isn’t that sweet? I haven’t looked at a single one so he carried them to the big recycling bin we roll out to the street every other Friday. But it was a nice gesture on his part, don’t you think? And even nicer that he hauled them to the garage because that was a honking big stack of newspapers!

I’ve accomplished things that have needed to be done but not much else. In fact, today I’ve accomplished nothing. No wait…I did scramble some eggs and make toast for my overnight company this morning. And I cleaned up the kitchen afterward. The dishes are now nice and clean in the dishwasher because I remember turning the upside down happy-face-magnet to the upright position. That means the dishes are clean now, which is one small accomplishment for this Monday. And I called the pharmacy to renew some prescriptions. I didn’t have to bother finding a phonebook because I know the pharmacy’s number by heart. (Why does one say “by heart” when it really means it has been memorized?)

Other than that, I’ve pretty much passed the entire day away doing nothing of importance. I say that, but is relaxing really unimportant? That question caused me to ponder, so I 'googled' the question “Why should I relax?” and it took me to some pages that came up with lots of relaxation reasons. One specifically spoke to me in mamablogger365 (at mamapalooza.com)…and I quote:

“…we rarely give ourselves permission to take the day off….and when we do, we nearly always feel guilty about it, as if we don’t deserve it. But here’s the kicker. Taking time for ourselves should not be considered a ‘nice to have’, but a ‘must-have’.”

I like that woman already and that’s the first blog of hers that I’ve looked at!!! She is the mother of two children and likely fills her days with many exhausting things, which is called “life.”

Now I don’t have any children at home…my daughter will be 26 in a few weeks and has a home of her own to keep up with…so WHY do I feel guilty that I haven’t done anything of value today?!? Are the things that are considered “of value” things that require manual labor, driving to the next meeting, buying groceries and putting food on the table, cleaning up after a weekend that saw busy-ness of it’s own, etc?

After my guests left, I made a couple of phone calls from my recliner…with numbers that were in our church directory right beside me (didn't have to find that either!). Those calls were important. One call was to see how a friend of mine is feeling after being in an automobile accident on Saturday night. Her husband is in ICU and she’s been scrambling to take care of insurance, police reports, medical stuff and dealing with a husband who’s been hurt pretty badly and is sedated because of so many injuries. I offered to do some of those things for her, but she replied that they were all things she had to do on her own. Besides, the busy-ness of the business was helping her cope, she said. I’ve been praying for her, her husband and granddaughter as they recuperate from the accident. Hey, that’s another thing I do while I’m sitting in this wonderful recliner! Pray! I do my devotions, Bible reading, etc. in this chair…and I pray here. And you can pray for them, too: Allen, Donna and Kayla.

But why do I feel so guilty for not having done anything of substance today? Usually I’m going full-speed ahead with not much time to spare. Maybe that is why I feel useless today. I’m usually so busy I can’t see straight! As I’ve vegetated in this recliner today, I’ve fallen asleep on two separate occasions…and one of those was while typing this blog! (That’s not a good sign!) By the way, I TOTALLY take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger!!!

The house has been very quiet. The only noises I hear are of the refrigerator running…the dog “barking” in his sleep with these little whimpering bark-like noises while he is curled up and laying completely still…and my fingers hitting the keys of my laptop. One wrong number has pierced the silence today.

Actually, I HAVE accomplished something today! I’ve rested! Let my guilt-trip make a landing at this very moment! I’ve earned this rest! I always close this blog with the same phrase and you’ll be reading it in a moment. This is the same quote I used to sign off from my radio show every morning. I’ve accomplished what that quote challenges me with! And now I've rested! This whole summer has been crazy, making three trips to Ohio, one to Virginia and one to North Carolina. All for wonderful reasons…and all while I’ve kept up with the duties I have here at home in Tennessee! I’ve enjoyed it all, but it’s been hectic. I haven’t been wasting time away today. I’ve been refueling!

If I had it all to do over, I’d do it all over again!

Wait a minute…if I had my life to live over, I wouldn’t have time. I LOVE MY LIFE!


Always remember that if you have a pulse, you have a purpose…so make your life count!