Tired of reading

I feel like I spent the weekend reading. I would love to say that I completed a gripping novel that I couldn't put down or exhausted the pile of magazines adorning my coffee table, but that's not the case.

Last Tuesday I started the course that I'm taking this semester, Introduction to Human Resource Education, and by this Tuesday I need to read three chapters in the textbook and eight additional articles.

I admit that I'm not a fast reader. My husband can complete a page of the newspaper and I can still be on the first story. I don't have a learning disability - I just don't read fast. The reading section of the ACT took me the longest time. My reading likely slows down even more when I'm actually trying to contemplate and be able to regurgitate what I'm reading.

About six - seven hours of the the past week and weekend were spent reading and making notes. Writing that doesn't seem like very much time but when I think about what else I could have done in those six hours it sounds like a long time. My husband got a kick out of how much time I spent reading because he has been working full time and going to school for over a year now. Perhaps he thinks now I understand what it has been like for him. I do sympathize a bit more but on the same account I didn't see him doing the laundry, etc. this weekend while he studied. Granted, he did vacuum when I asked him to.

I was prepared for school to take time, but I didn't expect it to take so much time at the very beginning. Looking at the syllabus, it is comforting to not see this much reading for the rest of the semester. This leads me to wonder if defining Human Resource Education calls for the most intense reading or if our instructor just wanted to make sure we were all on-board and serious about this course.

Either way, I'm tired of reading and looking forward to any other type of work.

The perpetual To Do list

We had a great weekend! The fact that it is Tuesday at noon and I'm just now writing about the weekend illustrates the point I hope to make in today's posting. I define our weekend as great because it was a balance of fun, relaxation and accomplishing projects.

Friday night we did some shopping with gift cards we received for Christmas and then went out for dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants with a gift card we've had for 4 months. This was the fun part of the weekend.

Saturday, we slept in (relaxation aspect fulfilled) and then started in on several tasks. We took down Christmas decorations, cleaned, put together a chair we got for Christmas, washed clothes, and made a nice dinner together. Sunday was busy with church, my husband working his second job and filing the end of the 2005 bills, documents, etc.

Although it's great to rattle off the list of jobs that we completed, I cringe while thinking I didn't do anything on a list of tasks I made earlier in the week. I must have the perpetual to do list. I felt really great about our weekend and what we got accomplished but I realized there is still so much to do. Frankly, there will also be "something" else to do.

As mentioned, I was hoping to write this message Sunday or yesterday but there were other tasks to do and a new Desperate Housewives to watch. It is nice to accomplish tasks but I've realized that I will forever be at the mercy of my to do list.

In the mean time - dust keeps, wrinkles might hang out if I delay ironing long enough, and there are many more projects to do and things to enjoy.

Perspective

I've had a few recent freak outs regarding finances. I'm not sure if it was triggered by an accounting error I made, the large numbers on bills rolling back from Christmas shopping, my desire to resolve to save more and spend less in 2006 or just the general obsessiveness that I possess. It's probably mainly in part to that last one....detect me being humble....

My husband and I both have good jobs and we're pretty happy with "the bacon" we bring home. We're not raking it in but we do fine. Without getting too personal about our finances, I'll just say I'm not the lady on Oprah yesterday who revealed to her husband that they have about $160,000 in credit card debt and student loans. Wow! In fact, I'm very far from that. However, I still obsess about our expenses. Those who know me best realize that I worry WAY too much! Don't consult with my husband on this one as he would say I never stop worrying.

One of my worry sessions was recently squelched with a cup - more like a gallon - of perspective. The week before Christmas a dear friend of mine gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. A few days later I received a call from another friend informing me that she, the new mommy, had a pulmonary embolism. At that point we didn't know many details but that it was important to pray for our friend. I had just been slapped into realizing that my little financial hissy fit was extremely minor to other things in life. I'm happy to say that both mommy and baby are home safe now.

Since then I've been thinking a great deal about perspective and hope to take a step back in 2006 and gather my thoughts and search inside my soul when I begin to worry about things. There are no promises here but I'm going to try.

Perhaps I need to do a bit more of letting go and letting God!

Here's to a broad perspective in 2006!