Adulting

 

        I’ve never lived away from home before, but now I do. I like a tidy room, but leftover breakfast dishes sometimes get in the way. I enjoy cooking—in fact, it’s my job—but groceries won’t find their way to my fridge, unless I go to the store and buy them. A walk outdoors greatly improves my day, but the clock seems determined to run out of time. I need clean clothes, a tidy bathroom, and a nicely swept floor, however, there seems to be more important things to do half the time.

        A few “non-essentials” creep into the space between my shifts and writing deadlines. Things like eating healthy food for my body, working out, having relational contact with other humans, and reading. All these things "don’t matter," they just affect my everyday life.

        Other extremely important things like to fill the place of all those “non-essentials," like wasting my time, preening my toenails, and other “essentials”. The hardest thing to remember, now that I live on my own, is that I am a person too.

        I enjoy doing crafts. I find pleasure in writing for fun (and work). I enjoy a good book. It makes my day when I call my friends. But I fill my life with work and to-dos, because, well… “I’m too busy to enjoy life” seems like a good excuse. It doesn’t actually work in the long (or short) run.

        To remedy the problem, I say “hello” to people in the other offices at work. I invent fun things to do, just for myself. I call my mom, even if it’s not for very long, because we both like it. I have conversations with my friends and write blog posts. I put healthy food in my fridge and eat it. My laundry gets clean, my bed is made, and I sweep the dead leaves from my poinsettia off the floor.

        Instead of wasting my time, I enjoy a little down time. I make sure I deposit my checks, transfer money, keep a budget, and actually balance my spending record at the end of the month. I spend time with God, write inspirational quotes where I can see them, and prop up my family’s picture so it stays up. I add things to my calendar, so I know what is going on when. And, last but not least, I try to get to bed on time, connected with waking up at a respectable hour. This is how I begin balancing my life.

        If you didn’t know, this is also known as adulting.