Roughing It

Our furnace is out. Well, actually Stein thinks the pilot light is faulty, but nonetheless, we don't have heat. Right now I am sitting with the laptop in front of the fireplace. Thank goodness Stein just bought a bunch of wood a few weeks ago. We're set if we need to have a fire all day (or until the heater guy comes). And to be honest, I don't mind. A fire in the fireplace just says to me, "Relax, what's the hurry?" It also says, "Slow down."

What appropriate words for the week I've had so far. I've been able to finally truly slow down. I was talking to Mickey the other day and said that I'm almost overwhelmed by the time I have. It seems like an overabundance, a gift, a luxury. Stein and I have also been joking about "how much I have to do now". I'm truly done. No more due dates, no more projects. It's a weird feeling, that's for sure. This week has made me think about time, and how it means different things at different times. I'll explain without being too philosophical, of course. (I usually save all philosophy for Rick the philosopher.)

If you've seen the movie Cast Away with Tom Hanks, you know the story. And you probably know the quote: "We live and we die by time. And we must not commit the sin of losing our track on time." He works for FedEx, of course he lives and dies by time. The irony comes when he is stuck on a deserted island with nothing but time (and Wilson).

Although I haven't been as connected to time as a FedEx worker, at times during the past three months I have definitely run against and out of time. We all know that school is run by schedules. Not only the schedules of the students, but also the schedules of the teachers. While the kids are at gym, music, etc., teachers scurry around the building, make copies, or meet for a brief chat with the principal or colleagues. Time tends to fly during these times. So many times I would think, great, I have this hour to do this and that, only to be stopped short when someone wanted to talk to me, or Linda needed something done. The plan would be out the window. Along with the time.

When I worked at Einstein's, my perspective of time dealt mainly with flight times and store hours. I also was under the constraints of traffic and weather all revolving around getting to or from airports. So much of that was out of my control. Yet, I did feel like I had a lot of time when I was on the road. I didn't have a boss sitting next to me or down the hall, so it didn't matter if I did my work at midnight or 3 p.m., as long as the work got done by the deadline. And because I worked out of my house, I could use my time during the day to run errands when the stores were less busy. Then I could return and work at night. I never felt like I was up against time. I felt like I was working with it, maximizing it.

The jobs I had before and after Einsteins were ruled by time. The one before was especially frustrating. The HR manager had an office at the front of the building, so she could watch out the window and clock us coming and leaving. Talk about Big Brother! And then at the job I had after Einsteins, I had to fill out a time sheet every week, and every minute counted. I once had a doctor's appointment, and my boss wanted to know how I was going to make up the time! Those two jobs really showed me how time can be suffocating.

And now? Today? Well, the clock is something that I look at to see when a show is on TV, or when a store is open, or if it's time to eat lunch, or how long my chicken has been in the crock pot. Right now time is truly a luxury. I'm savoring every minute of it.