TIME

2: the point or period when something occurs : occasion

The husband of a friend of mine asked her not too long ago when I had time to write. It's a valid question. I have three children, a husband, work part-time, go out with friends and participate in a weekly Bible Study and bi-weekly art group. So when do I have time to write?

It's been interesting to contemplate that over the last few days because while I try to blog or write daily, that has not been possible over the course of the last week. Not because I haven't had the time available to me that I normally have, but because the time hasn't looked like my time normally does. This is partly attributable to having a house guest but also to the fact that spring break is here and it's hard to find a quiet moment to think. I can write in small snippets of time, but I need a bit of mental quiet before and during to think through what I'm going to say. Quite often, before I sit down to write a post, I've pretty much written the entire thing in my head before I write it with the keyboard.

So when I don't have time to write the posts in my head, I can't write them at all. If I have fifteen minutes or a half hour to be on the computer, it's spent doing mindless things like checking e-mail or facebook (the biggest time hog EVER).

So when do I find time to write? Normally, it's while I empty the dishwasher, while I drive, while I cook. But during all of that time I've been talking, which means I can't be mentally writing.

In a normal week, I find time to write partly through the things I don't do. I don't watch TV other than Lost. I don't watch movies. When I have a free moment, I read or I write. Often, I read in order to write. Not to plagiarize, but to clear my mind enough to write.

I have no idea what my time will look like over the next seven days. We're only on day 3 of 6 of Spring Break and tomorrow is officially pajama day in our home, so the plan is a yummy breakfast from Sweet 16th, some Wii time, and lots of reading for all parties. (Picture books for K, headier fare for A, B and yours truly.)

I guess the best I can do this week is enjoy the time that I have, use it as wisely as possible, and set my expectations very low...