"And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a woman should run faster than she has strength." Mosiah 4:27
This post is prompted by three things: a previous post I did about how women can't do it all, and a post on my sister in law Lindsay's blog about how she thinks she's lazy (she's definitely not), and a great comment from my mother in law regarding Lindsay's "lazy post".
Here are some things that I've decided not to spend my time on in this season of my life:
I don't shop. Except for groceries.
I don't garden.
I don't do crafts.
I've decided to not sew anymore, for now.
I don't decorate my house.
I don't scrapbook.
I don't devote time to bettering my cooking skills. I feed the family and get it over with.
I don't play a musical instrument.
I don't "entertain".
I don't exercise regularly (though I would like to change that).
I have just decided that "couponing" will have to wait awhile.
I don't work outside the home.
I don't do service outside of my church calling.
I don't do household projects, such as painting a room.
I'm not involved in any sports.
I don't collect things.
There are many more things that I don't do, but I won't list them all. This isn't meant to be a negative post. I'm looking at it calmly and have made the decision not to do these things right now because every thing we do takes time and energy, and there's only so much that I have. When you make the decision to do something, there is another activity that you won't be able to do. Obviously, there are other things that I do spend time and energy on, and those are the things that I have chosen for this part of my life. Almost all of the things on this list are things that I wish I could do, and things that I want to do. But based on my limited time and endurance, I've chosen to do other things. And I'm glad! I wouldn't want to be doing them all at the same time!
So, now. What have you chosen not to do? Let's all celebrate what we don't do!
Kristy
6 comments:
Amen! I so agree that we can only do so much--you have to choose how best to use your time, even if it takes sacrificing doing things that you would enjoy. Right now I don't do much housework, which drives Andrew crazy. But I just don't want to use the little time I have while the baby is asleep to scrub the bathroom floor or fold clothes. So Andrew has been covering for me a lot. I also don't volunteer in my kid's classrooms. I don't do yardwork. I don't do crafts (unless you can buy them prepackaged and let the kids figure them out on their own). I don't take new piano students (I wouldn't teach at all anymore, but I've got two students left and I don't want to just quit on them. Plus, it's nice to just have a little extra cash for my own use.) Someday I hope to get back to doing these things, but for now I have to put them on hold.
Thanks so much for this post! Lately, I've been thinking about all the things I don't do and you reminded me that it's OK to not do everything that (it seems) everyone else does. I'm going to try to look at the things I do and don't do as conscious, logical decisions. Then, instead of feeling like I'm a lazy person or that I must be terribly unorganized I can tell myself that I CHOOSE not to do that right now! Thanks again - I've been enlightened!
Love this!!! I have been thinking a lot about this lately. Always good to hear again!
What a great idea to celebrate what you aren't doing by choice, instead of lamenting what you don't do because you can't fit it in. If we sat down and consciously made a list of things we choose not to do right now, I think we'd have much less guilt. I'll post a list on my blog now.
I am the queen of running faster than my strength will allow. There are just too many things I don't do, all of which I want to do. I guess I haven't quite arrived to the point of being ok with that yet, but I am working on it.
This post is quite interesting. I am always thinking about the things that I want to do, as well as the things that I should be doing. I wish I could do it all, but it's nice to be able to simply recognize that you can't do everything and that's OKAY. That's what eternity is for...
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