Ready, Set, GO!

My daughter J is in preschool from 9am to 1pm, twice a week. That gives me a bi-weekly window of opportunity to do what I want. Getting her out of the house with a packed lunch, into the car and over to school by 9am, has not happened regularly. I used to pride myself on my punctuality, but with a 2 1/2 year-old, that is becoming a bygone trait. After dropping her off and convincing her that I AM coming back, I have dwindled my 4 hour reprieve down to 3 1/2. If I count the time it takes me to go back and pick her up, then my available time has now become 3 hours.

Now what do I do with those precious 3 hours all to myself? Well, I have to go shopping for food, otherwise my husband and child will start trying to eat the actual refrigerator. There goes hour number one. Now I have two hours left... Do I vacuum, mop, dust, wash, scrub and rearrange? Do I finally find order in the paperwork that has been stashed in strategic spots since we moved in February? Do I start a craft, finish one I started or come up with my umpteenth business idea? Should I make pudding, grind bread crumbs and/or make fresh lemonade? How about catch up on emails, make phone calls, pay bills or open mail? My backyard needs serious attention and my garage needs a path carved through it to get to stuff.

Hmmm, I just killed a half hour more deciding what I should do. Now with 1 1/2 hours left I'm down to two ideas, blogging or TV. I blog some and put that aside for later when J is napping. Ultimately TV wins out and I plant my ass on the couch and catch up on my shows. G-d bless DVRs. When I put J in school for more days, then I can spread out my obligations and still steal a little time for myself. Until then, I'll do nothing and feel guilty later.