Making space

There are 168 hours in a week. I spend about 40 of these at work, 3 of them at the gym, around 56 asleep, 10 in the car/train en route to work/home. This leaves me about 59 hours of awake time to use as I desire. That is a weekend and a bit. The 'bit' is probably taken up by mornings, bumbling around the kitchen trying to remember which end of the box my muesli comes out of and evenings reacquainting myself with my fiancee after a day at work.

So technically, my weekends are clear space, but being a grown up and living in a grown up situation, my weekends tend to get swallowed. Swallowed by housework mainly. It's like I have this compulsive need to get everything done before I allow myself to do something fulfilling. The carpet has to be vacuumed and free of Oscar feathers before someone pops in for a cuppa, because alas, they might think less of me. I often spend my Sunday mornings at church, which is mainly choice, but I have to admit, there are some Sunday mornings that get up and go through the motions because I feel I 'should'.

I'm getting rid of 'should'.

For ages, I have been saying I 'should' catch up with a couple I have known for many years and who have been extremely kind to me. Just a couple of weeks back, I found out that one of these friends has been diagnosed with 'something nasty'. Today, I stopped shoulding and went and had lunch with them.

I had an afternoon cuppa with another friend who I'd been 'shoulding' to catch up with for ages...there were Oscar feathers on the floor....and she loves me just the same! I've removed 'should' and replaced it with 'let's' and 'will'.

And the housework, well, it takes about 5 minutes to vacuum the lounge, 5 minutes to sweep the kitchen and another 45 minutes for all the other odds and sods around the place. I am learning to stretch it over a week, do a little each day and find space and time for meaningful things everywhere else.

"Nurture your spirit today, by indulging in the things that make you feel more whole. Be yourself......with no apologies."