Rush Hours

I'm in a hurry to get things done

oh I rush and rush until life's no fun.

All I really gotta do is live and die,

but I'm in a hurry and don't know why.

~I'm In A Hurry by Alabama

This is the theme song for our home! We go nonstop from the minute the alarm clock goes off until our cuckoo clock strikes 12:30 a.m. and we head for bed. I have a lengthy To Do List; my hubby's list is longer. Even on days when I feel pretty productive, I look around and the satisfaction is dimmed by how much more I stil need to do. There's the ever-present housework, the work I get paid to do, the volunteer responsibilities, church secretarial work for my hubby, the list goes on and on.

Then there's the wants. There's so much I want to accomplish in this lifetime! I want to write a book. I want to read more books. I want to stand at the end of a rainbow. I want to learn how to decorate cakes. I want to clean my two-car garage out enough so at least one car can go in it! I want to successfully cook a roast (oh never mind!).

There is hope, however. One of the benefits of being in your 40s is you start to reassess. You begin purging the "young person's dreams" that are still hanging around in your psyche. You prioritize and eliminate. My Dad told me every ten years your priorities completely change and what was #1 falls to the bottom of the list. For the most part, I'm finding Dad had a lot of wisdom.

I used to have boxes of craft projects in the garage for "when I have time to do it." A good friend gently told me (in so many words) that I probably wouldn't live long enough to complete them all! Thanks to her, Goodwill received a large bag of men's neckties. (I had this pattern for a bowtie quilt and I thought it would be cool to use actual ties, so . . . ) I've spent this spring and summer throwing away a lot of boxes, real and metaphorical.

My goal for the rest of my 40s is to only be in a hurry when I know the reason why.