Including Time

Happy Wednesday,

How are all my amazing friends, family and readers doing today? All is okay here. Still struggling with my headache, but that’s to be expected I’m sure after multiple falls this past weekend. It was a busy weekend too. We enjoyed going to some friends for an all American BBQUE, which by the way, was simply amazing. Sunday, my niece came by for a little bit and visiting with her is always fun and now, we are halfway through the week and I’m really not sure where time keeps going.

Speaking of time, I found this wonderful quote that I wanted to share. It really made me stop and think about how precious time and little moments are, and how, if we really stop and think about it, we have an overall choice in our lives to either be, do, or stay the same. The quote says, “I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, but no one-including time-owes anything to you. Your life is a series of habits that are formed from choices you make-and then continue to make-every single day. If you want healing, then you have got to figure out a way to face what hurt you. If you want growth, you need to put in the work. If you want a healthier relationship, you better start learning how to communicate what you need. We all think we’re products of what happens to us. That we’re -handed-the lives we have and expected to keep them. We’re not. What happens to us is simply a starting point. So, your choice-the one you re-make every single day-is to let what happened to you hold you back. Or what happened for you to propel you forward.”-Emma Grace.

Habits, they can be a good thing and a bad thing. According to healthline.com it says “it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. I know for me, forming the habit of swimming on the daily is hard. It seems I allow things to get in my way, however, I’m only hurting myself by not getting in the pool, because swimming is the one exercise, I can do that doesn’t hurt me.

I think back to my school days and that of my kids and I will tell you, it was so much easier for my boys to get back into a routine of school than it was for me. I used to get nearly three months off for summer break, where they only got two months, however, they were so involved in sports that their actual downtime, without any school activities was two weeks, so flowing back into the routine of getting up early and being out the door was easier on their bodies. I see some kids that aren’t in a routine, and I believe that hurts them in the long run because they can’t function with jumping right into getting up and out the door.

The state of California recently passed a bill or whatever saying that high school kids are better starting off from 8:30 on. My thought on that is, this is their last four years of school before heading off to college, or starting their new jobs/careers, whatever the case may be. So, my question is this, why are we not helping our kiddos learn that in the real world, the grown-up world, work generally starts by 8:00 a.m.

It saddens me to see kids today not being able to truly be kids. They are so connected to technology that they miss out on the simple things. I have family members that don’t know what it’s really like to be a kid. They are so connected to their tablets, and they miss out on running through the sprinklers, pool time, and sadly, it can’t be helping their health either, because they get very little sunshine and the saddest part is, they are home schoolers, so they don’t get tons of interaction with the outside world, that is, unless their parents plan play dates for them.

I can’t help but look back on my childhood thinking how much I longed to be a “normal” kid. I wanted so desperately to be outside, running around, riding bikes and playing hide and seek with the other neighborhood kids, but because my mother raised me to believe these kids were all bad association, simply because they didn’t share her faith, I wasn’t allowed to play with any of them.

I am grateful that my ex-husband never fought me on allowing my boys to play with the neighborhood kids. My boys grew up on a street where there were fifteen kids just in our little section of the street and these kids and the parents, would all be outside in the afternoons and evenings. We moms would sit in our beach chairs watching that no kiddo ran in the street, and we looked out for each other. Our kids would play hoops, play in the sprinklers, draw on the sidewalk with chalk, ride their scooters, or play hot wheels in the dirt. I’m sad that I don’t get to see this anymore with kids.

Someone asked me not long ago, how I stand living next to a park and the beach? You see, I have a park and a beach with the lake basically in my back yard and I love it. I wouldn’t change a thing, other than maybe having a fenced in yard for the pups. Anyway, I sometimes sit outside on my patio watching and listening to kids running and playing. Their laughter is wonderful and music to my soul. Kids being kids and enjoying the freedom of playing outside.

Last night, John and I were watching Ozark and this boy asked the older man about dying and the older man told him, from the moment we are born we are one step closer to dying/the grave. How true that is. The older man then said, “so don’t waste a moment of your life or time, because time goes so fast.” True, true, true. I will be fifty-four years old next week and I can’t believe that number is so high. Time has just flown by and I’m so grateful for being able to enjoy some of it. I wouldn’t change any of it, well, except for maybe the moments I wasted doing nothing.

Life is precious and time doesn’t owe us a thing. Our lives are based upon the choices we make every day. I have the choice today to sit on my laptop getting lost on Facebook, Amazon or whatever else, or I can sit with my tablet, playing Bingo or some other mindless game, or I can decide what’s more important, like getting myself more stable financially and working on my other blog, my podcast and my jewelry, basically, the choice is mine and time is mine to waste or embrace.

Time really doesn’t owe me a thing and I really don’t want to waste any more of it. I want to enjoy my family and friends more. I want to read a book at the beach while listening to the waves crash in the background and I want to earn enough gosh darn money to buy my little mini cooper so I can take those road trips that inspire my writings. I want to sit out on my patio with a glass of wine and just get lost in conversation with John. I want to hear my son’s laughter a little more often and I want to get lost in creating my jewelry and other art. I want to not feel guilty for taking a couple of hours out of my day to have lunch or dinner with a friend and I most certainly want to make more time for my friends I left behind in San Diego when I moved to the lake. I miss them terribly and they are truly a part of my life.

Guys, time is what we make of it, and it owes us nothing. What will you do with your time today? I know what I’ll be doing, and I hope and pray you all enjoy your day to the max. Enjoy the little moments and make some memories, no matter how big or small they are, make memories and write them down for future generations to be able to see just how special you are. You never know who might enjoy reading about your amazing life and how you spent your time here on this planet.

Well readers, I must be saying goodbye for now. I do hope you are all doing well and until next time, Love Life++