T-I-M-E

Remember five minutes ago, when it was Thanksgiving?

 

Someone once said that the way you spell love is “T-I-M-E.” You make time for who and what you love. I’m thinking of this as I realize that I’ve spent the entire month of December running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off.

 

I know I’m not the only one in this zoomy zone. It’s not always fun – yes, I realize that it’s self-imposed – but looking at my calendar and my home, it seems that all this frenetic activity serves a purpose: to cull that which we love from that which just isn’t important.

 

To illustrate: a snapshot of my life recently.

 

• Saturday and Sunday mornings: Jingle Bell Balloon Rally
• Saturday afternoon: Eight-mile run in the foothills
• Saturday evening: Dinner & movie with a wonderful friend, who graciously made sure I didn’t fall asleep during The Hobbit
• Sunday afternoon & evening: 2012 Festival of Baking with my friends Tara and Randy [our yield this year: peanut butter blossoms; fudge; sugar cookies; white chocolate cranberry cookies; peanut butter chocolate balls; chocolate crinkle cookies; and a peppermint brownie tart. GLORIOUS.]
• Monday morning: Up at 4:15 a.m. to run before work, in anticipation of dinner with another wonderful friend that evening

 

And so on. Do I love all of these? Yes. But the pace kind of makes me want to stop, drop and do a spontaneous Peaceful Warrior yoga pose.

 

Looking around my apartment, now, makes me want to just laugh. Do I have Christmas decorations up? Heck yeah! Have I done laundry recently? Nope! Do I have clothes from pre-dawn wake-up calls scattered evvvvverywhere? Yep! Do I care? Nope!

 

See what I mean about the hustle and bustle serving a purpose?

 

Stepping back to take note of the things I apparently love – the things I make t-i-m-e for – brings to light one of the things I really and truly appreciate most of all: the discipline to hit the brakes. I say “discipline” because sometimes it’s really friggin’ hard.

 

I’m the kind of person that, when I’ve established a schedule of things that “need” to get done, I am determined to stick to it. Militantly. And things do get done, and I feel efficient and proud of myself. But you know what else happens? I start losing my mind. And I get too tired to enjoy much of anything. Hence: hitting the brakes. This can mean sitting down to just listen to holiday music on the radio, or watching a movie without multi-tasking, or driving around to look at Christmas lights.

 

I’ve learned to appreciate all of these, and I encourage all you other hustle-and-bustlers to do the same. Want to strike a spontaneous Peaceful Warrior pose? Do it!  Want to just stop washing that baking sheet and have some cocoa with a splash or three of Captain Morgan? Do it! It will save your sanity.

 

Soon I’ll be heading East for Christmas with my family. There won’t be a schedule. There won’t be alarm clocks. I’ll probably lose track of what day it is.

 

Funny, when you’re surrounded by ones you love, how that whole t-i-m-e thing becomes just a natural rhythm you don’t even notice.

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

Festival of Baking

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