Monday, March 7, 2011

Whim is My Copilot

I've been mighty active the past few weeks. Maybe I'm just finally getting into the rhythm of work. Or done grieving the opposite-hours schedule with the Sweet Babboo.

I think it's those things, plus more hours-o-daylight. I'm a sucker for sunshine. (Yep, I'm one of those evil Californians who moved to Seattle -- just to realize that Kurt Cobain's mopes made perfect sense. Every Starbucks should come equipped with a Prozac salt lick.)

Still, I think it's more than spring fever or emergence from the blues. I think I'm finding that sweet spot where my job is a job and my personal life is my own. Most days, I am relaxed and thinking of not much of anything as I drive to work ...and enjoying the return to the surface as I drive home from work. Weird.  ... and I know some of you totally get what I'm talking about.

I'm no techno-phobe luddite, but, damn, we've supercharged our lives and plugged our psyches into the 24/7 news cycle. We're the animal that never sleeps. Work invades our weekends, our commutes, our homes, our dreams. Down-time is something we schedule time for ... and approach with bizzarre intensity. Ironic? Uh, yah.

Not to mention our "I want it all and can have it" delusion. A student bitched me out once because I 'couldn't understand' her limitations, given that I was (then) single and childless, and therefore had an easy, uncompromised life. (Hah!) She was a wife and mother and employee and full time student, after all, so she couldn't possible be expected to be held to a standard I'd hold for other students.

Tip to the over-committed: You Cannot Have It All.

Sorry and thanks for playing.

You have only so many hours in the day, so many resources, and so much potential. (Gasp if you like, but I weren't never going to be Baryshnikov's dance partner. 'Oh say it ain't so, Missy! Why you can do anything you put your mind to!' ... See what I mean?)

But I digress.

If you're tuned in, hardwired to the grid and happy, then more power to you. I have lots of friends who are.

As your classic burn out, I'm just sayin', I love that I'm not out to have it all. That several hours of each day are driven by whim.

I also love that my new career has just enough challenge to keep me interested. But not so much that I'm taking it home with me. Home is for hubby nuzzles, dog adorations, slow cooker experiments (pulled pork bbq today!), apple butter canning, garage door installations, firewood stacking, phone calls with the Mothership, facebook boasts, 8 hours of sleep a night and the occasional blog post.

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