Home on a Saturday

This is the weirdest experience of my whole life.  Okay, maybe not, but it's awfully close - I had an entire Saturday with no plans.  No homework to do, no wedding planning, no travel, no family or friends nearby, no urgent tasks.  There were a few things that needed to get done (some necessary shopping, a little apartment cleaning) but really, I had hours to waste.  Lord knows I needed the rest after last weekend's wedding frenzy, and the last six weeks of non-stop running to get moved up here.  But I've been vegging out all week, and need to "recalibrate" as my dad puts it.

So today's been a mix of boredom and spurts of energy.  I got up for morning Mass at the parish I think I'll join; came home and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with my roommate.  I baked a pineapple-blueberry dump cake, then went out for a slow shopping trip for a few necessary items.  After a late lunch, I've done basically nothing except shift some stuff around in my room so I can see the floor, and stare at the computer.  I've got a dog-sitting shift to pick up for my roommate, and then it's home for an early night's sleep.

Why am I chronicling my slow Saturday with you?  Well, for one thing, because I'm bored and starting to get a tad lonely, so this seems like a vaguely constructive use of time.  But also, for a short reflection on the nature of time.

Time is weird.  Most days, it seems that there just isn't enough of it to go 'round.  Other days, it creeps slowly along.  There are moments when we cannot squander our time, and moments when doing nothing is precisely what we should be doing.  The challenge is to pick up the pace after a slow day; to remember why one is resting, and what that newly regained energy is for.  In my case, I know precisely why I should be resting; so that I can speed up at work this week, and so that I can tackle the project that's been haunting me for weeks.  Time and free will go together - time is our gift from God to spend or waste as we wish.  It's a scary thing!  But tomorrow, I'll pick up my life again, hopefully recharged from leisure.