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New concept - free(ish) time

When I made the decision to go back to school, life changed, as we might expect.

What had been busy became ultra scheduled. What had been intense took on a whole new meaning within a medical education.

Priorities shifted.

I had no idea how much free time I had before I went to school. That time evaporated within 15 minutes of crossing into the halls of medical focus.

Flash forward to graduation, board exams, the scramble of early practice building, the commute involved with working two clinics, the endless focus on defining my practice, filling my schedule, etc. Not much free time there, either.

Then there was an engagement, followed by planning and prep and wedding focus. That didn't take tons of physical time, but, as I'm learning, the emotional/intellectual prep for such an event is significant.

And now it's done. It's over. The newlyweds are back home, settling into life as a married couple. We are adjusting to Life After.

Days are no longer filled with wedding prep. My practice is slowly building, and while I'm busy with that, we've built some self-care time into our weekly schedules, understanding the whole marathon vs a sprint idea applies very much to us right now.

So what, then does a person like me do to enjoy open time when it presents?

Dust off the spiritual tomes. Tolle, Zen study, etc., have emerged once more, and provide renewed focus and food for development.

Read for pleasure. I am a voracious reader, and am now open to rereading favorites or diving more deeply into favorite authors' repetoires.

Move my body. More regularly, in some sort of organized fashion,with an eye to slimming a bit, tightening a bit, and gaining a stronger sense of physical self at this juncture.

Embroider. Finish the pillowcases I started stitching several years ago.

Weave. Feeling the need to explore a skill I learned as a child. I love working with yarns, with colors, with texture.

Learn to just be. Not necessarily in frenetic motion, just be. This may be the biggest challenge.

Turns out I am hellaciously efficient at juggling, and I mostly suck at just....being.

Thinking about this has also pointed out to me that by relinquishing self-care (emotional, physical, spiritual) as a first response to stress or new goals...I demonstrated that those things weren't high enough on my priority list in the first place.

So it seems I have some work to do, priority setting among the tasks.

 Huge hugs, and enjoy the weekend!

 Stevie

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