On The Way To Happy

Whoever said looking for a full-time job, is a full-time job, was more than merely insightful. But, if that were the biggest hurdle one faced, it would still leave some time during a day to devote to other responsibilities in life. I’m not whining so please don’t write to me reminding me how fortunate I am because I fully realize I am blessed. Finding “me time” is non-existent; I, like many of you, faced that conclusion long ago after having a baby while juggling a full-time job and a young marriage. I think it’s the constant reminders of how we aren’t getting enough accomplished in a day. I’m struggling to find time to fit all the guilt-guru’s lists of necessary to-do’s into each day.

For instance, we are told by fitness experts and our physicians that we must make time to workout. Does anyone ever really do the math on real exercise regimens? We have to find the time to organize our bills, clean, repair and launder clothes, nurture friendships, care for our children, communicate with our parents, take care of the cars, pets, volunteer jobs, church obligations, along with the recycling (I have to drive mine to the recycling center), cooking, grocery shopping, and the list goes on-and-on. We are told by nutritionists we must eat properly, so fast food is not the answer very often. We are directed to make time for ourselves and the experts prattle on about all of the important, yet neglected jobs we need to inject into our days. It’s enough to make the most tireless, hard-working girl, go to bed with her button-down shirt and skirt on, just to avoid needing the time to change clothes in the morning.

For my contemporaries, there are not enough hours in any given day. And the good news is, my generation who are at the tail-end of the Baby Boomers, gets to work more years in order to retire with the new government guidelines being discussed around the globe. So instead of feeling like a failure, as I have been beating myself up for the past four months, I am going to relish the fact that I am doing fairly well with all that I accomplish in a given day and concentrate on what I have achieved in a day, versus worrying and rescheduling every minute detail of what items on my to-do, were not fulfilled.

I’m setting up a star sheet, similar to what teacher’s and parent’s created so we could earn stickers for all the completed tasks in school. I work out almost every day and combine it with exercising my- regretful purchase of a- puppy, although she is really a worthy dog. The mental star reward for that completion will be two stars because I’d rather scrub toilets than exercise myself, let alone a dog. Cooking a meal, cleaning everything completely afterward and leaving the kitchen in pristine shape will garner two stars, as well. One, if I only cook and partially clean because, hey, it’s still doing something fairly amazing in this day and age. So, with the new year already well under way, I’m backing off my person just a little. A few accomplishment star stickers equals time to do something for Happy. Maybe I’ll learn the skill of being a little easier on myself. And because I cannot order more hours on a given day, I’ll have to settle for neglecting something important without remorse and reward myself with something pleasurable.  However, I would like to actually be able to stay awake long enough to read a full chapter in my Kindle before la-la land seduces me. I’d hate to wake up and feel I had failed reading my Garden and Gun magazine.  Do those earned stars carry over? Let’s say yes they do.