So Very Busy . . .

You know those people who wear their “busyness” like a badge of honor? “I don’t know when I can do that. I am so booked up!” Well, I am one of those people.

You might be old enough to remember when we didn’t have cell phones — when we didn’t make advance plans on when we were going to call someone. We called and someone answered the phone.  And they could usually talk to us no matter when we called. If they were on another call, we would get a busy signal, and we would try again later. That was even before you could leave a message. And remember when you didn’t even know who was calling you, and you answered the phone anyway?? And back then, they probably weren’t trying to get you to buy an auto warranty!

Now, we need an appointment for a phone call. It seems as if everyone is busy, not just me. What are we all doing? Well, I can only answer for myself. . .

First of all, I am busier since the pandemic began because I go to a lot of virtual things I wouldn’t go to if it required me to buy a ticket and drive somewhere. It is so easy to sign up for something virtual. I have gone to (free) symphony concerts where I used to live — across the country — that I would not be able to attend from where I live now if they hadn’t been doing virtual concerts for a time. I have always attended author signings and book talks at my local bookstores, but I can still attend them on either coast because many are now virtual. I have attended, I think, three writing conferences that I wouldn’t have attended if I had to get on a plane and go somewhere. And because some comedians and other performers have not been able to make a living lately doing live performances, they have begun podcasts or YouTube programs — so I watch/listen to some of those. And now I can meet virtually with friends who are in California. I mean, I always could, but before the pandemic, they would meet in California and I could no longer join them, but I can now. 

I am a type A personality and like to overwhelm myself with things to do. Fortunately, I do not know the meaning of the word bored. And although there is certainly nothing wrong with retiring and playing tennis or golf — or biking or traveling — it’s not for me. 

When I think of all the things we have to do, I am not surprised that I am so busy. After all, there are only so many hours in the day — and I “waste” quite a few of them on social media (which I say is “work,” and some of it truly is), playing games on my phone, and now — Wordle. Thank goodness there is only one Wordle a day. Oh, and I do enjoy computer Ma Jongg.

I bet if you listed all the things you do, you would know why you are so busy. I have done that.

• When you are older, there is medical maintenance – dermatology, ophthalmology, etc.
• Then there is the other kind of maintenance: manicures, pedicures, hair cuts and color.
• Of course there is the daily maintenance of shower, makeup (maybe), teeth, dressing.
• Everyone has to  spend time grocery shopping, doing laundry, and cleaning the house.
• There is home maintenance, car maintenance.
• I have a dog, so I have to feed her twice a day, take her out several times a day, and make sure I have food, poop bags, etc., and then there are shots and vet appointments, baths, flea treatment, etc.
• Even if you aren’t a gourmet (and I am not), we need to eat, so there is food preparation involved.
• Let’ s not forget about those virtual events.
• I am not a joiner, but I belong to at least six organizations and am on the board of two of them. Two are political, four are author/publisher related. They have meetings, board meetings, webinars, conferences. 
• We need some time to socialize with friends and family.
• We have to make sure we have enough “stuff”: toiletries, clothes, detergent, etc.
• I have a business. I write books. I get tons of e-mails to sift through and delete (or reply, or save until they are out of date!).  I write a weekly blog post (right?). I need to keep my money straight. And my sales. 
• We need to pay bills and taxes.
• We need to make calls to take care of annoying things like banks’ mistakes, etc.
• We need to watch TV because now there is Netflix, Hulu, Discovery, Disney, HBO, Prime, Paramount, etc. So much to watch, so little time. 
• We need to exercise. Between exercise and stretching, that takes up nearly an hour of my time most days of the week.
• And we need to read, right? I try to read a couple of hours a day.
• I am exhausted. Look at all we have to do. No wonder we have no time to answer the phone!
• Oh, and I guess we need to sleep too.

In addition to being busy, I am a Virgo, and therefore regimented — much too regimented these days. It’s a little me, a little Covid, and a little because of all I have to do, but I have developed quite a rigid schedule! And I am one of those people who always knows what time it is!

I get up around 7:30 and make coffee, go back to bed to read, but I usually end up spending some of the time playing games on my phone, looking at Facebook and Twitter, and checking the weather.

I take the dog out around 8:30 for a really short walk or a sort of short walk.

I chase the dog around the house (she likes that), feed her, and am at my desk by 9. I then check my sales, my banks and credit card, my three e-mail accounts and then post on social media, while I am watching my favorite political show on my phone. 

Finally, I get dressed.

I have all those meetings and zooms I already talked about. I zoom weekly with some writing friends in California. Two Thursdays, one Friday, and one Saturday per month I have regular meetings.

I like to have a reading hour mid afternoon. It is sacred time (popcorn time too).

I will stop there lest you think I am toooo rigid. Okay, you can call it set in my ways. I have been alone for a long time, so I have had to learn not to depend on someone else for entertainment. However, I now live near my daughter and son-in-law, so I am where I should be — I miss my son, though, who is on the other side of the country 🙁

So next time you are overwhelmed with things to do, realize it is because — we all have a lot of things to do!

I will end this now, so I can go relax. (Wrong! Time to exercise.)

NEXT WEEK: Back to Grammar – Quotation Marks and Italics