Making Time My Friend
by Barb Hanson
August  2008

Time and tide wait for no man. Nor this woman. I'm not worried about the tides but, ladies and gentlemen I could sure use more time.

I know time can't give us more of itself. It flows regularly and inescapably forward. There is no turning back the clock or the calendar. I wag my finger and preach to people to make time to go cruising. But, I confess here, brothers and sisters I fail to live by the gospel of relaxation myself.

My Internet connection was out for several days recently.

I felt awful. I couldn't receive emails. Worse yet, I couldn’t answer the emails I couldn’t receive. Would my customers consider me rude or think that I viewed their messages as unimportant? I called on the cyber gods, and my IT guy to set me free.

I could have seen this unexpected lost connection as a welcome opportunity to rearrange my schedule so Vic and I could go on a short cruise. Or maybe we could take the day off just to go fishing. No, Barb, no, said the voice in my head. You must check things off of your to-do list and neither fishing nor cruising is on your to-do list today.

I’m not particularly fond of my to-do list; however, I manage to beg, borrow and steal time away from other things in order to accomplish those inexhaustible tasks. I have to get the car serviced, go to the dentist, send a card to so and so, register a boat, buy some office supplies, take the cat to the vet, take the dog to the groomer, pick up this, drop off that, and then get to the office. Hurry, Barb.

I live in a world of multi-tasking mania. Even a walk to the mailbox requires a stop to fill up the cat food, bag up the trash, and pull a weed or two. When we lived on our boat we didn’t even have a mailbox – or a cat or a yard for that matter. Ahhh, life was simple.

Don’t get me wrong. Both our home and our business are near and dear to my heart. Twenty years in our home and 25 years in business – where does the time go?

My Dad will turn 90 in September. “Time marches on,” he says. “Take time to smell the roses,” he preaches. He knows about time. I should listen.

Yet, there is much to do. My to-do list grows as quickly as my grass with the summer rains. For now, though it can wait. Slow down, Barb. There is time to cruise, fish, read and garden. I just have to make the time.

Wow, what is that flowery fragrance in the air?