What are you going to do, she asked.
Time is the most precious commodity.
And competing interests only want one thing.
Time.
Of which, there never seems to be enough.
Sure, we could sacrifice sleep.
Again.
But that get’s routine and boring and unhealthy.
So it comes down to what’s important.
And if a lot of it is important, and all of it takes time, then what wins?
Or who?
Yesterday we had practice for a team we picked up with for a world series tournament this weekend.
It was thirty five minutes away by car, and a two hour session.
But those three hours blocked ended up taking four by the time I pulled back in the driveway.
Why?
What eats away the minutes and moments?
I know there was an extra five minutes in the parking lot, switching out cleats for Crocs and changing out of a sweat soaked tee shirt for a fresh dry fit.
And I’m probably off on the drive by six or seven minutes because I time it exit to exit on the Interstate, but the place we practiced was on the far side of town which added at least four stop lights to the mix.
Two red lights both ways there and back adds up to at least twelve minutes.
And since we weren’t in a hurry on the way back, and the end of the practice timed up with the middle of rush hour, I slipped off the Interstate on the edge of Little Rock and took some back roads and byways to make it around town.
Backroads always take just a little longer.
But that’s what days off feel like sometimes.
Especially in the summer when 10 is staying home.
A crash of priorities, where I sit down to do some work, and get called up or caught up with requests.
“Can we play catch?”
“Can we play basketball?
“Can we go for a bike ride?”
“Can I walk the dog?”
“Can we eat?”
Add in a couple loads of clothes, and dishes and letting the dogs in and out a few times in the backyard, plus cooking and cleaning.
All of the sudden, a minute here and a minute there just eat away at the day and it’s time to go to practice.
Or back to work.
Or the games this weekend.
I know it’s never ending, and I know there are always going to be “things to do” pulling in every direction.
I know it’s fleeting too, and soon enough, I won’t be asked to play and I won’t be asked to go.
Teen age surliness looms like a shadow on the horizon.
Until then, I’ll say yes.
To as much as I can.
Because I choose to believe The Rolling Stones.
Time is on my side.
Are you making time for you today?
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"Can we play catch?" "Can we catch fireflies?"
Yes, they eat up the minutes when you're trying to allocate your time to what's important in your day. But there will come a time, faster than you're ever believe, when you have more time than you know what to do with, and wish you could be wasting time chasing fireflies again.
You are exactly on track with this thread. I do not have kids but do work full time, try to keep up two households while my Ex is having surgery, walk a Beagle 3-4 miles a day, volunteer in my gated community to host a 2 hour bingo session weekly, play pinochle for 3 hours on Mondays, attend a fraternity meeting on Wednesdays….where do I find the time….I find myself sleeping 5 hours of less a night. I know it is not healthy and yet lack of sleep seems to be the only place to make more time available in my days. If you find a solution…I am all ears because I would really like to find time to READ!!