My Crazy Life

"How are things going?"
"Oh, good, just crazy busy!"
"You are always crazy busy.  I hardly ever even see you here!"
"I'm thinking things will slow down in the summer."
"You said that last summer, girl!"

This was my exchange this morning with a colleague in my office.

It got me to thinking.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I am too busy.  Most of us are, so it isn't an uncommon thing.

My assistant and I file reports every quarter on our activity in the previous quarter.  Every quarter we stare at it and wonder aloud,"HOW did we get this all done?"

You put your head down and plow through, that's how.

At lunch yesterday I met my dear friends at the Lumberyard Brewery and supplemented the fun with mac n cheese.  I had to add that in because they have the best mac n cheese in town.

We talked about my upcoming trip in September to Spain, which includes walking on the Camino de Santiago.  I shared I planned to be completely unplugged, other than taking a camera.  Not my phone. A real camera.

When I review the last two years in my head, especially this last year, I realize I spent a lot of time just plowing through the work.  And sleeping.  Not a lot of time for relaxing and renewing.

I do not believe that if I live my life like this, two weeks in Spain is going to make all that much difference to me in the long run.

It is about 18 weeks to my journey.  If I am going to be able to do it in the first place, I have to start going on some really long hikes to build up my feet. 

So, I mapped out on my calendar when I will be taking these hikes, which pretty much is every weekend between now and Sept 21.  If I look at it as a project, then I will certainly do it.  And I have to do it whether or not anyone joins me.

Then I realized that the preparation for this journey will prepare not just for the walk, but for the space and time I will have.