Question of the Day | 11/13/2009 4:30 am
What habit do you have that is silly, time-wasting or childish that you can't abandon?
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One thing that I love doing online is reserving books from my local library. So, if I’m not online, I’m trying to spend quality time with another book. Sometimes when I finally get a book that I might have reserved months ago, I have no clue as to why it interested me in the first place!
Right now I have a pile of four library books and they just called to say more are waiting. When it rains, it pours.
On a side note - love your name, one belongs to my daughter and one to my niece (and Waterford pattern!)
Definitely checking my emails. I have a million different accounts and I am constantly checking them, responding to them, organizing them….it’s a terrible habit.
I have a lot of silly habits, like having to have a few potato chips mid-morning with my orange juice––love the combination; chewing gum (privately) like a tough moll; eating with my fingers anything that I can eat with my fingers (again, privately), but probably the most significant is an unwillingness to change my daily routine––which one could consider a habit––I like how my works and days are uniform (like Missy’s) and predicable. I need external consistency because internally I am filled with multitudinous scenarios of crazy quilts. It’s like having a still-point in a revolving cycle.
Phyllis, I totally relate to wanting to maintain a daily routine. Without your schedule, life can go to hell in a heartbeat. That is not to say that I am not flexible when necessary. I simply don’t alter my schedule for the mere fact that someone has asked, and it really pisses me off when someone says ‘but you’re at home’. So?!?
Chips and OJ - fascinating! I love the concept of dessert after breakfast. Leftover cake, a nice slice of quickbread or maybe just an awesome cookie to dunk in my tea. Fortunately, most of the time I make sure that no such opportunity is available.
We always need to be flexible and like you I am that. It’s just that a good part of my life has been moving around, having one drama after another, and now in the autumn of my days I need and want stability and a sense that my world is intact even though the world outside isn’t. Luckily I have someone to share this life with whose presence is an integral part of my existence. In your case, get in the habit of having dessert for breakfast a few times a week––maybe more––life is short–-indulge!
Rough-housing with my 70-lb. puppy. She thinks it’s hilarious!
I am constantly counting things it drives me nuts, can not stop tried to but I think I am crazy and need to be put away
From working with hospice patients, I have learned whether it might seem silly, time wasting or even annoying to others - if there is some joy to you in the process, carry on!
My uncle died on Monday after a two year battle beyond diagnosis with cancer, when the doctors would not provide treatment he started researching and taking a holistic approach on his own. I would see him online for hours a day, and in my own mind at times I wondered if something else could not better fill his time. Today I found out he was wriitng a journal/book of his time, his thoughts in how he had changed his whole belief system, his findings and thoughts for others on the same journey. My assumption that his time was wasted, was far from the truth. Go for it, enjoy time in any form that makes you happy.
Silly? Time-wasting? A habit I can’t break?
My every waking moment.
The beauty of life Mr. Wow. I am spending today taking Christmas decorations which fill a section of my basement and spreading them through this huge old house. Big time consumption I wait every year to repeat! I have family members who avoid the house on this day every year, thinking they would be wasting time helping.
Mr. Wow needs another house for his Christmas decorations. And, every season, he buys, "just a few more." In case the bigger-every-year tree feels a little bare. (No chance of that, the tree groans under the ornaments.)
I use to set up two trees, one was the Christmas tree, and on the other one the branches held pictures of those in my family who are no longer here, it was our Solstice tree we used. A few years ago, we bought wooden photo ornaments and put the pictures in them, placing all of them now on one huge tree. The tree is completely decorated in pre-1900 style, outside of small white lights. Did the research, recreated ornaments and trimming from that period and brought it all togther. Goes with the house that way. Magical!
Love your answer, Linda. Pure and simple, life really is too short.
I’m a reformed pack-rat. I used to be quite bad, but over the years I start to let things pile up now and again. Lately, I’ve been going through my house - it is time once again to simplify. So many of these items do not give me joy, they hinder my enjoyment. I’m tired of stuff - cleaning it, moving it, storing it, and stepping over it so I’ve decided if I don’t need it or love it, it goes. If it is something that isn’t necessary in some way or if it isn’t something that brings a smile to my face, then a local charity will be happier to have it then me. It’s so much nicer to walk into a room and see only the things I want and love.
I’m trying hard to push past things I do out of habit and the things I have out of habit and aiming for that joy.
By the way, thanks for your work with hospice patients. My father-in-law just spent 6-weeks under hospice care - hospice professionals and volunteers were quite helpful and compassionate.
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