I try to always be on time.
I wasn't always this way. I used to be more carefree, more spontaneous. Time...the measurement of time, didn't matter all that much to me. I could take it or leave it. I was on my own schedule.....
And then it changed. I can't quite pinpoint the time when I started to pay attention to the time. How long it takes, what time it is, where I have to be and when, why is my lunch date late......
I own three watches. I have 3 wall clocks. Not to mention the large display on my phone and in my car. ALL are synced together. Not a single one is even one minute faster than the other. I correct people when they quote the time.
It's 12:53...I'll be there in 10 minutes."
"No. It's 12:57."
"My clock says 12:53...."
"YOUR clock is wrong."
Trust me. I know these things. (...and I'm thinking to myself, "You're not going to be here in 10 minutes. It isn't physically possible. Unless, of course, you've traded in your car for a Lamborghini and have a police escort.)
My ex-husband was driving my daughter to school the other morning. They always call on the way to school when she spends the night with him on school days. When the phone rang, I looked at the clock even before I answered. I saw that they were running late. 8:10 she has to be in class or it's a tardy. It was 8:06.
"You're running late!"
"It'll be okay...we're almost there."
"You'll have to drop her off back...she's going to need to stop in the office to get a late pass."
"It'll be OKAY....we're almost there!"
Which, I knew, they weren't. They were just getting on Lake Road, which means that they are 2.6 miles from the school. Which also means that they can't possibly travel to the school and allow for walking time/locker time/coat time to get to the classroom by 8:10. Let it go....my inner voice is telling me. It's not that big of a deal. So she's late? So what.
It stresses me out is what.
I called back. 3 times because he wouldn't answer the phone. "Make sure to drop her off out back!", I left as a message. I kept thinking, "They lock the front doors at 8:15 and then SHE'D get stressed out because there is no easy way to get to the back of the building." If she got locked out of the front doors that would eat up another 8 minutes of time, easy.
Let it go. I need to make that my mantra. I need to hear it in my head ALL the time.
"Letitgo, letitgo, letitgo, letitgo, letitgo......"
Fact is, my new-most-favoritist-song-ever has the "Let it Go, Let it Go" in the chorus line. Maybe that's one of the reasons it's my favorite song.
Those of you who know me have heard this story many a time. But it's worth repeating. My dad once said, "Time is your most valuable commodity." I never thought much about that statement. But as I get older when time has become such an issue for me....it makes sense. Perfect sense. I had no idea my dad was that much of a genius. I realize that now.
I could use 48 hours for each day in order to get my "To Do" list done. Actually, modify that...62 hours would be about perfect. But I would need at least 8 of those 5 hour boost drinks to help me through the day. There have been days that I'm SO overloaded with things to do and not enough time to accomplish them....I let time stand still. I do nothing. It's bliss.
But back to my attention to time. My lunch date is late. 24 minutes late to be exact.
It's allowed me enough time to reflect on the time, many times over and write this blog.....
Ah, the wonder of technology. That could be considered using my time wisely. Or depending on the viewpoint, maybe not......
:-)
I wasn't always this way. I used to be more carefree, more spontaneous. Time...the measurement of time, didn't matter all that much to me. I could take it or leave it. I was on my own schedule.....
And then it changed. I can't quite pinpoint the time when I started to pay attention to the time. How long it takes, what time it is, where I have to be and when, why is my lunch date late......
I own three watches. I have 3 wall clocks. Not to mention the large display on my phone and in my car. ALL are synced together. Not a single one is even one minute faster than the other. I correct people when they quote the time.
It's 12:53...I'll be there in 10 minutes."
"No. It's 12:57."
"My clock says 12:53...."
"YOUR clock is wrong."
Trust me. I know these things. (...and I'm thinking to myself, "You're not going to be here in 10 minutes. It isn't physically possible. Unless, of course, you've traded in your car for a Lamborghini and have a police escort.)
My ex-husband was driving my daughter to school the other morning. They always call on the way to school when she spends the night with him on school days. When the phone rang, I looked at the clock even before I answered. I saw that they were running late. 8:10 she has to be in class or it's a tardy. It was 8:06.
"You're running late!"
"It'll be okay...we're almost there."
"You'll have to drop her off back...she's going to need to stop in the office to get a late pass."
"It'll be OKAY....we're almost there!"
Which, I knew, they weren't. They were just getting on Lake Road, which means that they are 2.6 miles from the school. Which also means that they can't possibly travel to the school and allow for walking time/locker time/coat time to get to the classroom by 8:10. Let it go....my inner voice is telling me. It's not that big of a deal. So she's late? So what.
It stresses me out is what.
I called back. 3 times because he wouldn't answer the phone. "Make sure to drop her off out back!", I left as a message. I kept thinking, "They lock the front doors at 8:15 and then SHE'D get stressed out because there is no easy way to get to the back of the building." If she got locked out of the front doors that would eat up another 8 minutes of time, easy.
Let it go. I need to make that my mantra. I need to hear it in my head ALL the time.
"Letitgo, letitgo, letitgo, letitgo, letitgo......"
Fact is, my new-most-favoritist-song-ever has the "Let it Go, Let it Go" in the chorus line. Maybe that's one of the reasons it's my favorite song.
Those of you who know me have heard this story many a time. But it's worth repeating. My dad once said, "Time is your most valuable commodity." I never thought much about that statement. But as I get older when time has become such an issue for me....it makes sense. Perfect sense. I had no idea my dad was that much of a genius. I realize that now.
I could use 48 hours for each day in order to get my "To Do" list done. Actually, modify that...62 hours would be about perfect. But I would need at least 8 of those 5 hour boost drinks to help me through the day. There have been days that I'm SO overloaded with things to do and not enough time to accomplish them....I let time stand still. I do nothing. It's bliss.
But back to my attention to time. My lunch date is late. 24 minutes late to be exact.
It's allowed me enough time to reflect on the time, many times over and write this blog.....
Ah, the wonder of technology. That could be considered using my time wisely. Or depending on the viewpoint, maybe not......
:-)
Oh, if only we could just let it all go...
ReplyDeleteSo....did they arrive on time? :-)
ReplyDeleteTime is indeed a valuable commodity, and managing it is probably the hardest part. At the end of the day, when I look back on all I have done to cross it on my To Do list, I realize that really, not all was necessary, and some could easily have been skipped. Did I really need that nap ? Was reading this blog more important than doing that jogging ? Why didn't I accept my coworker offer to do this task for me ?
I don't know about you, but even though I consider my life quite busy and don't think of myself as particularly lazy or unorganized, I'm very far from the point where I could say "I need more time!". The actual truth is more like "I need to start doing things orderly, chose more wisely, and for god's sake, stop wasting time!" ;-)
Actually...no, they didn't. BUT in the big picture...it really doesn't matter all that much.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. There ARE some things that I put on my lists that if I don't accomplish in MY time frame given, stresses me out. Which isn't worth it. You are a very wise young man. Much more so than I was at your age...
And the nap? Yeah..that was totally worth it. :-)
Thanks!!
Nancy