Never Enough Time

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!

Bring the Green!

Have you read the ‘Green New Deal resolution that’s been introduced in both houses of Congress? Nope, me neither. First, I wouldn’t have any idea where to find it. Second, if I did find it, I fear it would be written in ‘Congress-ese’, which I expect is nigh on impossible for laypeople to understand.

But I was fairly certain it did NOT say we had to get rid of cows, as one news anchor claimed.

So, when I ran across an article that attempted to explain exactly what was included in this resolution (not a bill, a resolution), I took the time to read that.

It makes great sense to me. I agree with it completely. Basically, it states that since climate change is not only real but already effecting the population of the US, costing us time, money and even heath dangers, that it is the responsibility of the administration to do everything it can to assist and encourage changes to infrastructure, social norms, and a whole host of other things to help all of us deal with those climate changes. Nowhere in it does it even mention cows.

What kind of assistance could the government provide? Where do I begin?

We started looking at installing solar panels on our roof decades ago. But at that time, they weren’t very effective and lasted about 10 years, so by the time they ‘paid for themselves’, you needed to replace them. Plus, we were in the midwest, where there were NO companies who offered solar panels or knew how to install them. We got solar panels installed on our roof within a year of moving to Florida. But we still had to take out a loan to do it, and we may never get any of the cost ‘returned’ to us by the government, because we don’t have enough income.

Here’s the first few ideas I have on how the government could ‘encourage’ this change to our infrastructure (moving our electricity needs to solar panels and/or windmills): Make arrangements for homeowners to get loans for solar panels (windmills) at a really low interest rate. Encourage (or require) power companies to start replacing their fossil-fuel-powered power plants with solar panels/windmills and batteries. Why not encourage businesses to install solar panels/windmills on their roofs? Or the side of their building? There have been some wonderful innovations in solar panels; I understand one guy even figured out how to embed solar ‘panels’ in roads, so... why aren’t we taking advantage of these things?

We’d like to get an electric car, but they aren’t any good if you plan to drive more than an hour or 2. And it’s not like you can pull into any gas station and ‘fill up’ when your battery gets low. When I first started looking at electric cars, it seemed you could drive for 4 hours, then you had to stop and ‘recharge’ for about 8 hours. Assuming you could find a place to do that. About 3 years ago, I heard that ‘high-speed recharging’ only took 45 minutes, but while the Kansas City area had nearly a dozen ‘stations’ where you could recharge, it only had 1 place where you could recharge quickly. Some of the theme parks in Florida offer recharging stations in their parking lots, but I don’t know if you pay extra to get one of those, or how long it takes there.

Why aren’t gas stations hedging their bets by installing recharging stations? Investment in solar panels/windmills, a couple large batteries and the recharging equipment could make road trips so much easier for those trying to help save the world. Motels could offer to recharge your car while you catch some zzs. Rest areas could also offer a recharge while your kids and pets are running off their pent-up energy and the family has a snack.

How many people would be buying an electric car if they knew they could get it charged up while they were out and about, rather than ONLY in their garage? Parking meters could become charging stations, so that you could fill up while you shop. Why not put solar panels and (tiny) windmills on a car, to help it go another mile or 2 down the road before you have to recharge?

There are lots of ways to help ‘encourage and assist’ efforts to save the world, and by extension, ourselves. We just need to stop thinking things like, “That isn’t how it’s done.”