“The more complicated your life is, the simpler your bottom line must be.”
I don’t know who said that, but I believe it. You’d never know it by looking at our calendar though. On a rare day with nothing scheduled, we both sigh with relief. And promptly commit to another project. This is wrong, and we know it. I think the reason it goes on and on endlessly is that we haven’t simplified the bottom line.
To clarify, many of the commitments on the calendar involve Bruce and his role as a county commissioner. Seldom does a day pass without a phone call, a meeting, another request to be somewhere, or a question that requires looking up a state statute. There probably aren’t many folks who realize that the term, “public servant” means being at everyone’s beck and call. But public servants’ dedication also affects the lives of their families. At our house, meals are haphazard affairs because I never know when Bruce will be home. He is often gone for days at a time in order to attend conferences, and I never agree to appear at a family event without checking his calendar. For some people, it means missing children’s activities and canceling family get togethers. We no longer schedule vacation time because there aren’t enough free days in a row to go anywhere.
It’s important to our bottom line to attend some sporting events in support of young people in our lives. There are a couple of meetings that are priorities for me and, for people of our age group, ever increasing medical appointments. Bruce’s yearly fishing trips take precedence over almost everything. We try to attend all the Arts Council presentations and plays at Fort Robinson, in lieu of vacations. Other than that, I struggle with deciding how to structure my bottom line without completely dropping out. About the time I settle on no more than 3 trips to town in a week, a snag appears and I end up making two trips to town in a day.
September is slow down time for me. I want to sleep later, something the dogs seldom allow. I have less energy and dread the seasonal work of washing windows, clearing the garden, bringing in some of the summer plants, and shampooing carpets. Nature seems to encourage the more leisurely pace. Grasses dry up, trees change color, the flowers look weary and bedraggled, no matter how much water I put on them. A blue haze wraps the far hills and makes me want to grab my own blanket and curl up for a nap.
Some people are energized by cooler weather and frosty evenings. If that’s your mode as we step into September it’s okay. But for every “yes” there should be a “no”. The main issue is not to complicate life any further, and to prioritize a personal bottom line. Part of mine is to get those fall chores done, and that will mean skipping some social time in order not to become overwhelmed. So, I won’t see you at the meeting and maybe not the ball game. Right now, I’m off to wash windows.
Meet me here next week and meanwhile, do your best. Somebody might like it.