A Time For Everything

Where has the time gone?

There was this...December1995, six short days before his birth...

And now there's this...December 2014, ten short days before his 19th birthday.


What a difference nineteen years makes, huh??

But this isn't meant to be a post about my boy in particular, it's about time. It passes faster than we imagine.

When we're on the near side of time, it seems like we have forever to do all the things we dream about and things we haven't even imagined. And then all of a sudden, we look back and time has passed and we probably didn't do nearly as many of those things we thought and dreamt about.

But until you're dead it's never too late. This is where a bucket list comes in... I don't have one actually. Do you??

So I'm issuing a challenge--think up and then share some bucket list items or share items from your list. Due date...next Friday, the 19th.

Just a few short years ago, I had spare time. I could lounge and watch TV. I could spend hours online, reading fan fiction or interacting with my online friends. I could write these blog posts on the fly the morning they were to be posted. I could spend hours and hours just writing.

These days I find that have much less spare time to do more enjoyable things. I catch a few TVshows here and there. But the days of reading for hours on end are no more. And online interaction happens only via Facebook. My blog posts have to be thought up and the bulk of it written in advance by a day or two and then read and tweaked the night before.

Now that I'm proofreading for money--that's basically my second job. So that of course eats up a lot of time. And even though business at the day job is down (as it usually is this time of year), it seems as if there's more to do. Well, there sort of is since we've implemented a few processes and systems to track and document what our employees are working on. It's good for cash flow, but bad for me.

It seems cooking and housework are low priorities these days, though laundry is a must. I've made it clear to my boss that I want to work from home. Then I can cook and clean here and there during the day. He's promised to make it happen.

While I really need my beauty sleep, I may have to give up half an hour or so of it per day for a while. With my goals of reading and writing and weight loss, I think I'm gonna need it.

But you know, I really hate being this busy. It doesn't work for me.

What about you? Is your life moving along at an acceptable rate?

School started just yesterday and now it's almost Thanksgiving.

WHUT??

Where did my fall go?

Okay, so in Texas, fall comes later in the official season--trees are turning colors now and are so lovely to look at. The temps are fluctuating between on the chilly/cold side and on the perfect side.

It'll be Thanksgiving in a week and a half.

How did the second half of each year become so crazy?

Oh, right--a teenager in high school and involved in a group. In our case, marching band. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm glad my son has a group to be a part of. It's not one big happy family, nor is it a large group of nerds--there are clicks and groups in the band as in the school in general, and many of the kids are popular. But they come together with a common bond--love of music (some more than others)--and they can do it extremely well when they've got their acts together.

Fireworks season is in five weeks and, much as I hate to acknowledge it, Christmas is six weeks away. The new year in seven.

Over all, the year has been much approved over last, so I have no real complaints.

On a side note, DD and I worked on the back yard on Saturday. Most of the yard was mowed and the clippings bagged. We still have a bit to do, but it's amazing how much difference it made. I know my lawn--if I even have any left--is infested with weeds, but when it's cut and green, it still looks mighty nice.

All right, so it's Monday--and I have some stuff to do!

Hope you had a great weekend, and here's to a good week.

Is it really March already? Spring has sprung here in North Texas, thank goodness. I am tired of being cold and of high electric and gas bills to keep me warm. This is the short period in which those things even out once more.

Time marches on as they say...my younger daughter will celebrate a birthday next week. It'll be a happier occasion than the last b-day we celebrated, I'm sure. I even have a present or two or three already purchased. Pretty good by our standards. Usually, I am running out the day of any given birthday to buy gifts. But this daughter is easier to buy for and I have seen things here and there as I have been out and about and purchased them. It does feel good, I must admit, to have it partially out of the way. Now if I can just remain so proactive and get cake mix, frosting, and the rest of the gifts purchased (and wrapped???) before the actual day of her birth, then I really celebrate.

Time heals all wounds...or so they say. My daddy died two days before Thanksgiving last year and we buried him two days after. A tough holiday, to be sure. I wasn't that close to my dad, sad to say. He even said last year (around this time) that he didn't know if he'd live to see another Christmas. All the usual regrets apply so I won't list them. But I still miss him, and the tears sneak up on me every now and again. A certain song or seeing a skinny old man with a receding hairline and a full-beard.

Time flies when you're having fun...so time alternately drags and rushes by. Fun comes in small bursts that are gone much too quickly, the other stuff seems to linger. But what is fun?

Fun is hanging out with your soul mates--I have various ones. My writer friends who understand the lure of the beckoning keyboard and an active muse. My online fandom friends who share the joyous squee of the BBC's Robin Hood and especially its leading actor, Jonas Armstrong. (Oh, we haven't had JA eye candy in awhile, so here you go...go ahead, click on the image to see it bigger!)



And the most important of my soul mates: my husband who becomes more of a soul mate the longer we are married. (Seventeen year, this July) A good thing, no? My younger daughter, who, as I mentioned in the last post, is very much like me and makes me laugh. And my son, whom I adore. He's fun to watch, to listen to, and spend time with. He keeps me young(ish).

As noted a few weeks ago, I celebrated a birthday. A milestone one at that. Yes, I turned 40. A couple of weeks ago, while at the grocery store, I came across a special edition of TIME magazine celebrating the year 1968 (which obviously was the year I was born). I flipped through it, but put it back on the shelf as it wasn't the cheapest magazine on the rack, and to be honest, I never buy magazines. But my daughter made me buy it, although it didn't take much convincing.

So on the 4th, as I was resting up for the evening's activities, I finished reading through the articles. There were some really interesting and noteworthy events that year - my birth notwithstanding! TIME hailed it as a milestone year in our nation's history. So as an ode to my birth year, I thought I'd share some of the events that caught my attention. The first of which I posted the other day - the image of the earth rise from the other side of the moon taken by Bill Anders during the Apollo 8 mission in December 1968. (Go ahead, take a minute, scroll down and check out the photo, read the post...)

I guess that's it for now. Just wanted to check in, explain my posts in case you scratched your head wondering where these varied topics might have originated... In a couple of days, I'll upload some footage from the 5th Annual Fireworks Extravaganza for your belated viewing pleasure.