I SO Need a Time Turner - Part 2

Almost a week has passed since I wrote my last post on needing a time turner and since then I have made an amazing discovery. In fact, I may have found my own little time turner and it's simpler than I had originally thought.

My time turner is, in fact, time itself.

Confused? Let me elaborate. Last week when I posted about all my lofty goals and how there was no time in which to do them, I was feeling quite defeated. We had just come home from an eleven-day vacation and the day was full of unpacking, laundry and grocery shopping (all of which fall under the 'essential' category when you get home from a long trip). Add to that the Christmas clean-up (including tree, ornaments, decorations and helping my kids find homes for all their new things) and you can see why I didn't get to any of my resolutions that day.

Over the past week, however, time has passed and I have slowly gotten caught up on all the household duties. Christmas is packed away, waiting until next year. We have re-organized bedrooms to accommodate new things. I finally tackled the pile of mail and odd jobs that have been sitting on the counter since before Christmas. I have gotten a decent amount of sleep (meaning at least 6 hours--I still have to be realistic) for three nights in a row. And yesterday I was finally able to sit down and do something just for me (yes, I watched Downton Abbey on pbs.org since I missed it on Sunday).

My takeaway from the week is this: there is enough time to do lots of different things, just not usually in the same day. It's the same thing I had to realize as a new mom with a couple of tiny kids running around--the idea that you can have it all, just not at the same time. It's very difficult to pursue your dreams when you are up to your eyeballs in babies. But those babies grow up, they become more independent, and there will be a season when you can again chase your dreams.

Applying this same concept to my week has been very helpful. You might even say it has been my own personal time turner. Of course, I'm not saying that I now expect to be able to do everything I want to do. There will always be sacrifices that must be made in order to be a good mom. But if I can remember that, at some point, there will be time for whatever it is I'm dying to do right now, then it will be easier to delay that desire to another day if needed.

So it seems that the secret to turning time is as simple as just letting time turn and being patient. Who knew?