Reconciling My Stressed Relationship With Time

Our weekend without the kids was a huge blast!  We did get home, though, and spend the first few hours wandering around the house smelling their pillows and folding and refolding their clothes (ok ok, I did.  John just looked at me like I was crazy). But once we looked around and realized that we were autonomous being again, we hit the road with an energy that we haven’t had in years.  Several margaritas and movies later we found ourselves back home idly anticipating the kids’ return.  What I realized (and what is impossible to realize unless you have children) is that there is a LOT of time in the day that gets wasted if you spend it being all about you.  I can honestly say that I never realized how much time I wasted when I was a single college student – I felt like I was hard working.  And I guess I was for that time in my life.  Having kids, though, sets a new standard for your relationship with time and space and energy.  You cross a threshold that puts you into an almost superhuman league of being able to get things done with time to spare.  Most days, yes, I feel exhausted and overwhelmed but, without that, I’ve realized that I don’t feel like I am accomplishing much these days.  I can really say that life is better when you are living it for others as much as you are living it for yourself.  Otherwise, it just seems like a lot of wasted time.