Is it March yet? For some time I knew the first three months of 2007 would be killer as far as schedule was concerned. I was scheduled for a conference in Baton Rouge, some time away with the hubby in Cedar Key, a women’s dinner in Spartanburg, SC, a writers retreat in Lake Yale, FL (I’m the president of the group, so attending was mandatory), followed by my awesome trip to Israel. What I “messed up” on was that three days after my return from the Land of the Bible, I would be leaving for Florida Christian Writers Conference. Somehow, I forgot that February has but 28 days and I didn’t figure that “the first of March” might also mean “the end of February.” How and why do we boomer women manage to overbook ourselves like this?
So, yes. I have jetlag. Or I had it. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, thanks to mild sleeping agents. But that was the least of my problems. My biggest problem was that my suitcase was either on my bedroom floor or some other bedroom floor at all times. I literally lived out of a suitcase for nearly three months! And this, my friends, is no way to live. That time is, blessedly, over.
I cannot tell you how much I missed my family! Even though I loved every minute (or nearly every minute) of what I was doing or what I was seeing, etc., I missed them. Dorothy said it best: There’s no place like home!
There’s also no place like Israel. Many emails, phone calls, etc. have inquired: what was the best part? Answer: all of it. What was the worst part: None of it (except my feet getting messed up by those bad shoes!). Where you scared? Only once. Turns out the gunfire I heard was IDF during target practice. (Can’t fault ‘em for that!) Did you have to spend a lot of money? If you don’t count the ring I bought in Nazareth….not really. 
But, I digress. Why do we boomerbabes push our calendars as we do? And, what about FUN TIME? Are we scheduling that in, too? If you noticed, when I spouted out my itinerary, I wrote: time away with hubby in Cedar Key.
That’s right. I scheduled in time away. But that’s not all I do. I also schedule in time away with friends each week. At least once a week, I meet a friend for a cup of coffee somewhere. I deserve it. I need it. I do it. After all the dues I’ve paid in life, a cup of coffee with a friend is more than well deserved.
I also schedule time with God. (You put God on a schedule, Eva Marie???) Yes, I do. If I didn’t, I would spend all day doing stuff stuff stuff and then suddenly, it would be time to go to bed. (Can someone tell me how the days got shorter all of a sudden?)
What about you? With all the rush rush rush, do you schedule time for the fun things too? A phone chat with a friend? Coffee or lunch with a buddy? A time for brousing in a bookstore or, better still, a jewelry shop? (the link is to the store in Nazareth, by the way!) How about time with the spouse or special honey? And God? Do you schedule time with the One who yearns most of all to spend time with you?
5 Comments
Welcome Back, Eva!
Isn’t it nice to put that “suitcase” down! Being a missionary for six years, that was my one lament on furlough–living out of a suitcase and sleeping in a different bed every night.
Thanks for the reminder of “scheduling” time in for GOD, HUBBY, FRIENDS, and FUN! As boomer women, we think we can do it all (and some of us do!), with a PRICE!
Hugs,
Connie
This website is so cool. The banner is stunning! I found you via Laura of Swank Web Style from the Ultimate Blog Party.
I’m coming out of my rest time (winter) and stepping into the busy time of travel and speaking. In the next two months I will travel to Illinois, California, Austria, Hungary, and Germany. Though I love travel, I know that June will need to be another time of rest. I schedule whole months where I can be home — August, December, February. This keeps me refreshed and helps me to truly enjoy the time away, and the ministry.
I wrote a book about slowing down and having a simple, sane-paced life (Breathe) but I still wrestle with trying to keep my schedule under control.
It helps to remember what I tell others: every time you say yes to one thing, you’re saying no to another. Are you saying yes to what God’s calling you to? In order to do that, you have to say no to things that God’s not calling you to.
I am in a constant state of pruning, or things can get too crazy.
My friend Mary Byers wrote a great book about this, How to Say No and LIve to Tell About It. I highly recommend it.
Keri
Hey Eva Diva…don’t we have a phone call scheduled today (Sat. 3/10) so we can play catch up on our lives? See, she even schedules her phone calls to friends! (Actually, that’s not totally true - I think I instigated this call, said we had to actually schedule it or we’d never talk!)
It’s Saturday and I’m reading all of the boomer babe blog postings written this past week because I’ve been too crazy-busy to read them. But today I scheduled it in, so I agree with the Diva, if we’re going to be busy boomer babes, we really need to make it a point to schedule the important things in life.
I ‘ve taken to scheduling quiet time every morning to read a little in my Bible, in a daily devotional, and from a current book. I’m still working on LISTEN a fabulous book from our own Keri Wyatt Kent. A great way to start the day no matter how you look at it.
Thanks, Eva, for sharing your crazy schedule with us and closing with some thought-provoking questions to make us think about how we use our time. You are inspiring.