Complicated Schedules
13 Jul
I am one of those terrible people with an extremely complicated schedule.
I say this before I try to make plans to preempt the inevitable, “Oh my gosh you’re so busy!” response to my attempts at coordination.
Because, yes, I am busy. But more than that, I just have an odd schedule.
I have a great schedule if you’re a stay-at-home parent. I have a great schedule if you want to go out of town with me on a pre-arranged weekend next year.
But I do not have a good schedule if you work 9-5 and you want to hang out with me any time soon.
The next time I am seeing people is in October.
(This is a bit of a joke.
But only a bit.)
My friends are all very supportive of me and this, though, what else could they be? It’s supportive or nothing.
I learn to take time, slivers where I can. An ice cream cone once every two weeks may be all I can give my people right now and it’s not enough, it’s never enough. But it’s something.
It’s about the effort.
My friend and I talked about long distance relationships recently. She said the biggest difference between a long distance relationship and everyday life is that everyday life relies more on small, daily sacrifices. Long distance is like, “Oh hey I’m here for a weekend, let’s block everything out of both of our schedules and do nothing but be together and fall in love the whole time,” and everyday life is, “Can I catch you for a half hour next Thursday at 11:00PM and let’s be humans?”
Real life is hard.
There’s something in the sacrifice, though.
Something in the coordination and patience and the driving to see a person on a Thursday at 11:00PM for a half hour.
There’s something in that.
This is beautifully said. Any kind of relationship takes sacrifice and I don’t think people realize that. Everybody pictures marriages, boyfriends, etc. as being the only kind that need sacrifice.
As someone who loves both her early-to-bed schedule and bordering on unhealthy cross stitch habit, I try to remind myself that sometimes it’s OK to go grab a bite with someone instead of rushing home to just be home.
The busy times can be tough; sometimes it’s thrilling, other days you feel like crying. Hang in there. And I’ll take a half hour if that’s all you have to spare. 🙂 (Or Hilary and I will hang out and send you the meeting minutes).