Weekend Wisdom: Time Management

I’ve got Middle Earth on the brain right now (that and Dr. Who). I recently finished rereading The Hobbit, and we’ve been telling the story to MiniDork (and she ADORES it). This quote isn’t from The Hobbit, but rather The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s Gandalf’s response to Frodo lamenting his fate as ring-bearer, but contains a priceless wisdom for any burdens we may bear…even if it’s just laundry and loneliness, or errands and ennui. A lesson I try to teach MiniDork, constantly it seems at times, is that we can only control ourselves. We can’t make anybody else do anything. Well, we can’t make life do anything either. I can’t make the weather nicer, or people kinder. I can’t make my luck better or the price of milk lower. The things out of my power will always, always outnumber that which is in my control by far. However, I can choose what I do. I can choose how I act.

• I can choose to sit on the couch and played Bejeweled because I’m third-timester tired (the super serious kind of exhausted), or get up, and do just one little chore which will make my life less stressful the next day (even if just a little).
• I can’t make the University of Calgary offer ManDork a seat at their medical school. But I can send him out the door after supper for interview practice and clear the table without his help.
• I can’t make my entry way bigger, but I can organize it as best as I can and keep it picked up.
• I can’t make the other drivers on the road stop driving like maniacs, but I can be extra careful and alert.

Even more than the idea that we can only change ourselves and the limited things within our power, this quote makes me remember to spend my minutes wisely. We are all given twenty-four hours in a day. And as the days wind down to my due date, the pressure is on to make every minute count. What I decide to do with my time now will make all the difference with how I spend my time in three months. If I cook, craft, and clean now (OK…so the cleaning service will be doing most of the cleaning), then I can snuggle both my children all the more later…and what better way is there to spend precious time than in the arms of those we love?