What would you do? Last Spring, I decided to enroll Ben and Mary in a Parent's Day Out program which would give me five free hours a week!!! I dreamed about it all summer...and now it's here. So the question is (posed by my friend, Ann), what have I been doing with my five free hours a week? I would have to say that so far, the number one way I spend my five hours is running errands. I know it doesn't sound all that gratifying, but you just don't know. I tend to avoid errands at all costs with the kids. I put off returns. I shop on eBay instead of the stores whenever I can. I grocery shop on the weekends. I just don't do errands with the kids. So having this 5 extra hours of free time a week, I have so far, spent a lot of it on errands and freed up mine and Ted's time.
But those five hours are sacred. I won't just run any errand or do just anything. You would think it's a great day to mow the lawn, right? For some reason that day feels too precious to mow the lawn. One week I had Sam and Abby watch Ben and Mary in the basement while I mowed the lawn! I had a free day the very next day, but by golly, I was NOT going to spend it mowing the lawn! It felt so good knowing that I had preserved just a little more time for that day.
Many of the accomplishments that I list on my "Snapshots" are done on my "day off". For example, I bought my guitar stand and music light on that day. I visited baby Leah on that day because Ben and Mary scream at the sight of my sisters dog and it lasts the whole visit (even when the dog is not in the room). I also ran all the copies for my song sheets and prayer booklets on that day. A lot of good practical stuff gets accomplished. One day I helped my mom on the computer. I cringed inside because I knew my valuable time was awastin', but you have to be a good steward of any gift and this time is a gift....and she was so appreciative.
Is this what I really want to do? Do I really want to run errands on my precious day off? Not really. It's more out of necessity. What would I really like to do? Hmmmm....I had visions of cropping, cleaning, organizing my storage room and lunch dates. I still hope to do some of these. The year is still young. In fact, I have two lunch dates scheduled in October. One with another stay at home mom who is also getting a break from her kids, and the other is a working mom. I'd really like to schedule a lunch date with Ted. It hasn't worked out yet, but I plan to.
What would you do if you had an extra five hours a week...totally free? No kids, no work, no spouse...what would you do?
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