I’ve retired
from my day job. I should have plenty of time to do whatever I want, right?
So, how come I
don’t?
I think back to
when I was working, feeding the family and trying to hold the house together. I
managed it. My house didn’t look like any you see in a magazine, because there
were always things that hadn’t been put away, and dust accumulated far faster than
I could wipe it away. But there was food, usually hot for supper, and I tried
to keep the dirty dishes from piling up too deep in the kitchen sink.
In the evenings,
I almost always multi-tasked by writing while watching tv. Which is not easy to
do; you either miss what’s going on in the tv show because you’re concentrating
on the story you’re writing, or you stop writing to follow the tv show.
Knitting while watching tv is much easier, as long as the pattern isn’t too
difficult. Sometimes, I did that.
On weekends, I
ran errands and cleaned house. Seemed like I never had enough time to get
everything done.
I don’t work 40
hours a week at a job anymore. I don’t have to spend 45 minutes driving to work
every morning and 30 minutes driving home (don’t ask me, it must have been the
traffic flow), or ride a bus for an hour each way every day. I should have
plenty of time!
Hmm. Yeah. Guess
what. I don’t.
The thing is, I
dusted off a few hobbies I used to do long ago, added a couple hobbies I never
had done before, and... the days are not long enough!
It doesn’t help
that the errands have multiplied as well. Because I have diabetes, the doctor
wants to see me every 6 months to see how I’m doing. To see how I’m doing, he
has to have some lab work done. In Omaha, the lab was in the doctor’s office,
so both could be done at the same time. Here in Florida, the medical labs are
separate from the doctor’s office, so that’s 2 trips every half year. I have to
see a cardiologist, who is not in the same building. I have to see an eye
doctor twice a year. And because I’ve had kidney stones (thanks to the mineral-laden
water one drinks in Florida), I’ve been seeing a urologist every 3-4 months.
Because I suffer
from depression, I visit with a counselor once a week, and see a medications
monitor once a month.
Not enough
errands for you yet? I go to pick up prescriptions 3-4 times a month. Yeah, I’d
get them all ‘synchronized’, except it seems like every couple of months, one
of them gets changed. My husband has his prescriptions ‘synchronized’, but
every single month, at least one of his ‘hasn’t come in yet.’ Why don’t
they know they need to order it a day or 2 earlier so he doesn’t have to make a
2nd (or 3rd) trip?
And because I
have diabetes, I’m supposed to exercise 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week.
My tiny business
needs tending.
The bills need
to be paid, which requires moving money around between credit unions.
The HOA insists
we keep the lawn and landscaping in good shape.
The dog wants some
attention.
The house still
needs to be picked up and chores done from time to time. Thankfully, my husband
does quite a bit of this.
I have one day a
week assigned for each of my ‘major’ hobbies. (Sunday is my ‘clean office’ day,
which is a never-ending battle in and of itself.) Most weeks, I find very
little time to devote to hobbies. I try not to beat myself up over that, but...
it does get to me.
Of course, it
might help if I could get my body straightened out enough that I don’t sleep 12
hours a day. Or take 2-3 hours to ‘wake up’ after I do get up.
Well, now I’m
just dreaming!
