Tuesday Ten: If only I had the time...

...this is what I would do.

Ten Things I Wish I Had Time To Do

1. Doing Nothing. Just nothing. Staring at the ceiling--or the sky. Maybe I could lay in bed sometime instead of getting up in the morning. No guilt, no thinking I really should be doing something else. Just ten minutes, I promise.

2. Cross stitch. I still haven't finished my cross stitch project that I started before last Christmas. In fact, I haven't even worked on it since Christmas. I need to take it with me to work on in the car while waiting for soccer practice to end. Instead I take a book. Uh, not that I read it, because I am busy watching my soccer stars kick the ball. Wow, I wish there were more hours in a day for that.

3.Reading to my kids. We used to read at lunch and breakfast time. We used to read before bed at night. That was about 3 kids and a lot of noise ago. Now it seems impossible to find a book that they all enjoy. Then I had a child that would holler her way through mealtimes so no more reading at those times. Then I had another child start doing gymnastics 4 days a week until 7:30 at night so she doesn't get home until after the younger kids' bedtimes. No one really seemed all that interested so I stopped. No one asked to start again. There isn't time to do it anyhow. I do read library books to the youngest ones on some nights I am home to do it, but not like I used to. The bedtime story used to be an absolute must. Now it is a treat.

4. Hiking. I am the only one in my family that enjoys hiking. I don't want to go by myself. I don't have time anyway.

5. Fiddle lessons. My dad gave me a fiddle a few years back and I started learning to play. I loved it. It was so much fun. I pictured us playing together at the Old Time Fiddler's Contest. Then we moved and there was no way to practice at a time that wouldn't wake up kids. Then we moved again and when I picked up the fiddle it sounded like a dying cat. I don't have time to play anyway.

6. Making quilts. I have about 3 unfinished quilt projects and a dozen more I would like to start. I just need to make the time.

7. I would have a spectacular garden. Not a weed in sight. Beautiful, lush, green, large plants. My pole beans would have poles. My pumpkins would weigh 100 pounds. My tomatoes would ripen in August. THERE WOULD BE NO WEEDS!! Oh well, at least I have a garden.

8. I would be able to take a shower in the morning. Instead of at night before bed. Going to bed with a wet head in the winter is not ideal. But by the time I get up at 6am, go walking, take oldest son to bus stop, feed the animals, and eat my breakfast, the kids are up. Off goes the day. I suppose I could shower instead of eat breakfast, or worse, get up earlier. No thank you.

9. Clean the refrigerator. Ha. I really have no hope that I will ever have time to do more than wipe it down now and then.

10. Teach 8 year old son to tie his shoes. This is shameful. But there never seems to be time, at least not when I am thinking of it, which is when we are walking out the door to go somewhere. Teaching a child to tie their shoes when you are in a hurry is not ideal. Solution: slip-on shoes.


One thing that I don't have time for but I may do anyway is take a photography class. The class meets on Wednesday nights, the only weekday with no gymnastics. The only night that we are usually all home. Except during soccer season, but practice is only from 5:30-7 or so. So I am not sure if I should be gone on the one day that I should stay home. The class is only 8 weeks long though. I don't know.