Redefining Leisure

On my to-do list for today is the aspirational task... "write something."  So here I am.

It's a busy time in academia, the sprint to the finish line at the end of the spring semester.  There are tests to write, tests to grade, daily assignments to brainstorm and final projects to draft and explain and guide students through. There are advising meetings, where students are thinking ahead to next semester and next year and the rest of life, asking big and small questions that deserve answers. My own kids are racing around outside after school and tracking mud through the house and resisting bedtimes because IT'S STILL LIGHT OUT, MOM!

At a conference for women in engineering I was lucky to attend recently, there were so many successful women talking about their careers and work and climbing that ladder. There was a time for questions at the end of each talk, and every single time, some form of the age-old question was asked... What does your work/life balance look like? How do you do it? What did you have to give up, hire out, trade off? And, dear reader, the answers were simply... dismal. "I'm a workaholic." "Don't be like me. I can't stop working." "I worked in the car and took phone calls with China at my son's soccer games." "Balance? What's that? HA HA HA."

I was also in a meeting recently where the same topic came up, and someone mentioned "leisure time."  Inwardly I snorted, thinking, leisure? What's that, anyways?  ...because my life is undeniably busy. Three kids, animals and land to care for, part-time work, family and church commitments... I never run out of things to do. But then, I started to wonder... what is leisure, anyways?  Lying on a beach somewhere, completely relaxed and rested? Or is it found elsewhere? The dictionary says it is "use of free time for enjoyment." Hmmm.

Because, I like my life. I'm glad for the chance to do the work I do, and to do it on a part-time basis. Parenting is hard, there's no doubt about it, but it's a joy to watch the kids we've been given learn and grow into the people they're meant to be. There are extremely busy seasons, that's true, but they are usually just that: seasons. The chores will pile up for a week or two when we have a lot going on or everyone gets sick, then (usually) I find some catch-up days and things get put back in order. There are trade-offs in every decision we make, and I try to be aware of them and intentional about each one. I still find time to bake bread, plant seeds, read good books, connect with those around me, and appreciate beauty. I don't know if I have much "free time," but I do have "enjoyment," and for that I am glad.


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