Time

Time is funny. Sometimes you want nothing more than for it to hurry up, and sometimes you want it to slow down. It seems like the older I get, the faster it goes and as they say, time flies when you're having fun! When I look at my Facebook account - at pictures of friends I've known since elementary school and at pictures of friends I met in college, there's one thing we all have in common - we're all grown up. We're all "grownups" - people are married with kids and are working and are doing all the things grownups do. But even though I'm almost 30, "grownups" still seems like a term for old people - a term I have yet to grow into because I'm too young....or too stubborn.

Since moving to England from the US for my husbands 2 year job assignment, my days seem to float slowly by. While I appreciate not having to work, I have become....a housewife. Now, I have nothing against housewives or stay-at-home moms, please understand that. But I miss the routine of the work day. The smell of fresh coffee brewing in the morning, cuddling with my husband in bed wishing for five more minutes, then getting a little nudge from him signaling to hit the snooze button one more time; the dogs poking their cold wet noses on my bare arm telling me it's time to go potty. I miss my drive to work - the solemness of the calm before a busy work day; I miss interacting with clients and my boss, putting together presentations and the fulfillment I felt at the end of the day. It's funny how, when you're in the midst of a busy workweek, all you can do to get by is count down the days until the weekend. But now it's different. My routine is up to me and I make all the rules.

So what, you may ask, do I do with all my free time as a housewife? First of all, please know that I do not allow myself to be defined by this title. I use 'housewife' because well, 'Desperate Housewives' was already taken! Just kidding! Anyway, to better explain why this said title even exists goes back to when we first opened our bank account here in November. The options for my occupation on the bank form included the following: employed, unemployed, self-employed, and homemaker. I selected "homemaker" (also, "grownups" was not an option and just so you know, I still wouldn't have selected it if it were!). So for my own personal use, I chose to alter this 1950's term and went with the trendy"housewife" term instead and there you have it! But like I said, this title does not define me, it merely acts as a sort of title-holder until my real title emerges - someday. Titles I already hold: awesome wife, sweet daughter, great friend and sister, and upstanding person - hopefully everyone agrees! =) Back to my housewife-ly duties: Mondays: laundry and clean house from top to bottom, run 4 miles, plan what we're having for dinner; Tuesdays: run 4 miles, blog, plan our next adventure, plan what we're having for dinner; Wednesdays: Is it Wednesday!? I guess, I do more of the same; Thursday: repeat; Friday: repeat; Saturday and Sunday: It's Sarah and Dave time! Most of our weekends are spent traveling but on the rare occasion we aren't, we usually relax together, go for a bike ride, head to Costco to get groceries for the week - maybe Bed Bath and Beyond if there's time (from the movie Old School)! =)

During the day when Dave is at work, I sometimes reflect on our life - where we started and how far we've come. Four years of marriage has gone by in a blink. I think about my old job I left behind and wonder if they miss me, wonder if I made an impact there. I wonder what my family is doing - then glance at the clock and count backwards five hours. I imagine what they are probably doing at that very moment and wonder if they are thinking of me too. I also think about the future. I want to take advantage of all this free time and our proximity to Europe to travel so that when baby Anderson comes along one day, I can look back and tell him/her all about the adventures Dad and I had before he/she was born. I guess one could look at my free time as A) a waste or B) a gift. I am a cup-half-full type of girl so I of course choose B! It is a gift. I have this gift and I want to soak it up because one day soon, my life will again be consumed with work, husband, baby, dogs, family and friends. This quiet and uninhibited life that I live today will be nothing more than a faint and distant memory. My mind then goes back to family. Family is so important. My thoughts go to my Dad and Mom, my siblings, my grandparents, my In-Laws, extended family and friends. I wish we weren't so far away. I worry we're missing out on their lives and about the time missed not being with them and vice verse...and I hope everyone is okay and is happy.

I can't tell you how much more I appreciate my life and the people in it now that I've had a chance to take a step back out of the chaotic and stressful working world and really just take life in. When you're consumed with grownup things like working 40 - 50 hour weeks and you have bills to pay, and your AC needs to be repaired, and dogs to take to the vet - life has a way of getting in the way of living. I have come to realize how important time is and that people forget to appreciate it. They let their busy lives get in the way and they don't do or say the things they should because "there's always tomorrow." But there isn't always tomorrow. Quit being a grownup for one second or one hour - believe me, it's more fun that way - and enjoy your time.

The grownups term, like the temporary housewife term, will never define me - they serve as my reminder to not take life too seriously, to enjoy every second I am given, to continue to be humble and grateful for all that I have been blessed with, and to appreciate the people in my life and the experiences along the way.

Time is a gift. You decide how you want to spend it.