Time

Ann Voscamp at A Holy Experience is doing a blogging series about The Practice of Time. So far the posts I've read have been about slowing down.

I like slowing down. I live slowly. I like to savor my morning coffee and have another cup after breakfast. I like to take my time reading Facebook and reading my favorite comics online and then I sprinkle lavender essential oil in the shower and enjoy the aroma while I wash my hair.

I'm pretty good at slowing down and savoring time.

What I need to do is to make better use of my time. To stop savoring long enough to notice the three...no four...baskets of laundry in my room. Where did these come from, anyway? Last night...surely it was last night?...there were only two baskets.

Homeschooling my children gives us a wonderful flexibility in our schedule, but I'd like to make the schedule a little firmer--to get it done a little earlier in the day so we have time to walk to the park.

I've learned that a rigid schedule is uncomfortable for me, a constant burden that leaves me feeling a failure every night because things do happen and we never meet the schedule precisely. I've heard that there is great freedom in having a scheduled-to-the-minute day, but I do not find that to be true. I find it very headache-inducing, as if I'm trying to keep up with those Type A people who crave lists and remember to look at their planners. I can't keep up. I don't have that "you must work before you play" voice that others seem to have reminding them to dust before they go for a walk in the sunshine. And honestly, I don't want that voice. It sounds like an uncomfortable way to live. Responsibility is important, but oh, the joy you miss if you always put your chores first!

I need to find a way to have a routine but hold it loosely.

How about you? How are you handling time? Do you need to slow down and savor....or speed up a little and use time more wisely?