Downtime can mean so many things. I loved having time to breathe and sip on a coffee as I sat waiting for a student to show up for a counseling session. Downtime was also that time on a Saturday afternoon when I locked myself into the bathroom to keep both of my kids out so I could just...be..... Needless to say, they have tractor beams that can locate a female parent in record time but somehow fail to identify the male parent - ever!
There is also that very special time when you choose to do something for yourself that doesn't involve hoarding time or avoiding someone you love. This is the downtime I get to experience now. It's that time after I walk my daughter to school and go for a 2 hour walk in the crisp air or even in the faint drizzle because I want to and I want the results. There is no one there to say, "It's raining" in that way that starts the conversation rolling in my head - perhaps I should wait until after lunch to walk or maybe just put it off til tomorrow. No one to stop me from wearing a pink fleece scarf with hearts all over it just because. There is no one to set a limit on this time I will spend freely on myself, on my health, on my spirit. Two hours later, the errands will still be there, the grocery list still demanding to be purchased, the bills to be paid and the toilets cleaned. For now, though, there is only Downtime in suburbia. With a pink heart covered scarf ... or not.
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