Spring Break. The week is spread out before us with so much promise. The kids, I think, are planning for complete and unrestrained freedom. (I’m already bursting bubbles by saying things like, “Spring Break doesn’t mean eating junk all week,” and “Just because it’s Spring Break doesn’t mean you will be playing Wii the moment you roll out of bed.”)
We aren’t planning to go anywhere, but the promise of things that could be done with all our time is a treat in itself. My own imaginary list is extensive, longer than I could possibly complete. Get a haircut, clean out the kids’ rooms, start running again, carve out extra writing time, have coffee with a friend, paint the back porch, practice violin, watch some movies with my husband, finish stripping wallpaper in the upstairs bathroom, entertain my parents for a couple of days, completely organize my life—these are a few of the things I’ve toyed with doing this week. Getting even some of them accomplished will feel wonderful.
I honestly hope I never retire. Funny thing for a stay-at-home mom to say, I know. When my kids are grown I expect to be working more in other ways, but I hope there will always be a good variety. The idea of long stretches of time with nothing to do makes me uneasy. I enjoy being busy. I like my pieced-together life, and I want to use it well. Projects, activities, and plans keep me moving, active, growing. My faith tells me to hold those plans loosely, because God may very well have a different idea of the course my life will take. But having the plans—facing each day, each week, each month, each year, with hopes and dreams—I hope I never lose that.
How about you? Have you ever had a time in your life when you were without plans or dreams? What was that like?
