As the Minutes of our Lives Tick Away....

It is Sunday and I've been pondering for days now, what do I take for granted? This is not a randomly arrived at concern. It is a topic for my writing class. The more I think about it the more puzzled I am.

Do I take things for granted? I'm sure I do, but since I take it for granted I'm at a loss to identify it. I try NOT to take things for granted; to be grateful for health and family and a roof over my head, but I still assume they will always be there.

While I ponder, I sit at my computer and play Solitaire. I love Solitaire. I always have. I remember watching my grandmother, sitting in the sun at our dining room table, playing solitaire all afternoon and wistfully wishing I could just play Solitaire all day. She assured me that when I was her age, I would be able to do just that, but by then it would have lost some of its charm. It hasn't, although I'm not quite her age yet.

I also spent the afternoon ensconced on the couch watching the NASCAR race. I love Nascar, too. There is a special thrill about being at the track as the train of cars go roaring past you, the engines vibrating through the stands, the rumble fading off as they enter turn 2, and exit turn 3. Today, I am mesmerized as I watch the cars go around and around. (It's a thing, I know. You either love it, or you stare at it in a brain fog. I love it.) As I stare, something is ticking away at my brain. It's beautiful out. Shouldn't I be out there, enjoying the afternoon? Or doing something else, like writing how I take things for granted?

Probably, but the race is on and I'm glued to it as I check the whereabouts of my favorite drivers. Besides, I've been trying to figure out a certain word on the Words with Friends game I'm playing with my daughter. I can do that while keeping an eye on what's happening on the track. "There", I think. "Two birds with one stone! I'm not really wasting time. I'm just allocating it."

The race is over, dinner is cleaned up and I'm checking Facebook one more time before I sit down to write about taking something for granted. As I scroll through the links, the shares, and the photos posted by friends, one stands out.

"Don't Blink. You never know when your life can change in an instant."

And there it is. Truth. Right in front of me. What do I take for granted? The fact that tomorrow my life will be the same as today. That when my husband and I go to bed at night, we will wake up tomorrow and go about our daily routines. But daily, I am surrounded by evidence that a fire, an accident, a diagnosis, .... could change my life..... In An Instant.

I look around the room at the projects I intend to do some day. The photos I want to sort, and make into an album for my kids, the stories I want to get into a book, the books I want to read, the sewing projects I want to create. My haven, just waiting for me to dive in and get busy as soon as I stop procrastinating and playing solitaire.

I don't regret all of the ways I waste time. I really do enjoy watching NASCAR races, so if I want to sit and watch, that's fine. But my grandmother was right. Solitaire can wait until the time when that's all I can do. If life were to change, and my time was no longer my own, I would be wishing I had time to do all sorts of things, the very things I take for granted that I can do tomorrow.

Gloating on a Snowy Day

I'm gloating. If you were here you would know it without me telling you. You would read the smug look on my face and ask "Why are you gloating?" Then I would point outside and you would say "So? It's snowing. Why are you gloating?"

Then I would try without success to take the humble approach as I explain that my Christmas lights are up.

You see, I am a procrastinator. I have good intentions but even though I could get something done ahead of time it doesn't happen until I have reached the countdown phase. I remember one year, when I was still working. The kids asked me if we were going to put up the Christmas tree before Christmas. I don't remember sarcasm. There was more a sense of panic in their voices. (I finally got the tree up about a week before The Day.)

Now that I am retired I always put our Christmas lights up outside on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Of course in Pennsylvania the weather can be nasty and cold. Which brings me to why I am gloating.

Two weeks ago the weather was mild and warm. Larry suggested we put the lights up since the weather would be nice. Much to his surprise, I was thinking the same thing. And then came the double suprise. I did it! I put the lights up two weeks early. When the weather was nice...and everyone else was busy cleaning out their garage, or taking a walk on a lovely day.

Today, when I would normally be stuck on the portico roof over the front door winding strands of lights around the railing I am inside. Gloating. It is snowing outside and my lights are done!

Advent--Teaching a Procrastinator How to Prepare

December may have just arrived, but Christmas has been in the works since late summer! Every year we complain that the stores start their holiday promotions earlier and earlier. It seems to test our senses. This year, though, I started thinking about how we view all that commercialism and I came to a new conclusion. Maybe starting to prepare for the holiday so early isn't such a bad thing.

To many people, December is the month we get ready for Christmas, but to Christians, December is the month of Advent. In church each Sunday we light the Advent candle counting down the Sundays until Christmas Eve. Advent is all about preparation. It reminds us that what we are preparing for is the birth of the Christ Child. For all Christians December is a balancing act between the festivities and the focus. Everyday I hear people counting off the 'jobs completed'. "Christmas cards went out today!" "We picked out our tree and cut it down." "Our tree is up!" From baking and shopping to office parties and Christmas Cantatas, the whole month of December is a month of preparation. For a dyed in the wool procrastinator, my attention is much more on the festivities, and less on the focus. For instance...

As a child the feeling of urgency on Christmas Eve added to the excitement. Unfortunately, I carried that into adulthood. I would still be making that Christmas stocking on Christmas Eve so it could be hung by the chimney with care after everyone had gone to bed. In fact, I kind of reveled in the rush to get it done. Over the years I've gotten better, but Christmas Eve will still find me up late getting everything ready. Festivities or Focus?

And that got me thinking about the preparation that goes into the preparation. How often do we fuss because the Christmas decorations have appeared in the stores before Halloween? Being a procrastinator it is easy to jeer sarcastically at them and say the season keeps starting earlier and earlier. But is it possible that those stores are doing us a favor by helping us complete some tasks before the real prepartion begins? For instance maybe I should admire all those early birds that have their shopping done BEFORE Black Friday even arrives.

Lately, I've started to recognize all the benefits of getting things done early. The cookie baker who bakes and freezes her cookies in advance is ready for any party and doesn't have a sink full of mixing bowls and baking pans as she heads out the door. What a thought! Buying that Christmas Tree in September (artificial, that is) means you aren't paying for it in December when money is at a premium. In fact, an obvious benefit of shopping early would mean my January credit card bill would no longer cause a major meltdown in the family budget. I'm not holding out much hope for me for that one. I have multi-levels of reasons that support my need to buy gifts at the last minute.

The point here is that Advent is the time when we prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ. The decorations, the shopping and the parties add to the fun, but probably not so much to the focus. Maybe next year I'll find a way to do some of the prep work in advance so that during this month I can focus more on what Christmas means. The stores have their reasons for getting me started early. It's called 'getting into the black'. But I can take their strategy and work it for me. And I'll call it 'getting the spirit back'.