Time Out

I don't know about you, but there are some times in life that just seem to warrant a time out.  When our children were little and they had turned from being the angelic creatures that we convinced ourselves they were into something slightly Linda Blair-ish (obviously a tendency inherited from the other side of the family)...we'd put them in time out.  This time out gave them a chance to think about their behavior, to cool down, or just to keep us from putting them on the porch with a sign reading "free to a good home."

Jill wasn't a big fan of "time out."  She'd crawl all over the chair, would whine incessantly, and would sometimes want to just skip that whole thing and go straight for the spanking to get it over with.  That's generally been her way.  Brian, on the other hand, was rarely sent to time out because the worst thing he did as a little guy was disassemble anything he could get his hands on...and just leave it there.  Putting him in time out in his room generally meant that whatever mess was in there...was about to be multiplied tenfold.

I know that in sports...teams take a "time out" to reorganize the game plan, give people a chance to breathe, or make someone (like a kicker) think too much about what has to be done.  Oh, and give the network time to show another fifty commercials that we've already seen at least five times each during the broadcast.

People in academia take sabbaticals...well, because they can.  They use the time to research, think, and write articles that apparently impress people who are all into that sort of thing.  Like the people who give government grants to study such important things such as how feral camel flatulence is contributing to global warming. 

Or, quite frankly, "global warming" period.  I personally think that God is in control...so I can't really believe that hairspray has put a hole in the ozone layer or that driving my car with what is apparently gold laced gasoline is responsible for everything.  That really gives "man" too much power, don't you think?   But then again...considering my mother's usage of Adorn hair spray during my childhood...I suppose at least it is possible.  I just hope that there aren't congressional hearings on Adorn or anything...because I'd most definitely have to prop my eyelids open with toothpicks to hear that one on C-SPAN.  I still have visions that one of these attorneys who does class-action lawsuits is going to flash up on the TV one day with something like

"Have you or a loved one recently been diagnosed with inability to remember anything, to breathe, or have you sprouted a second head?  Was it due to your mother's excessive use of Adorn hairspray during the 1970s?  If so, please call 1-800-NO2-ADORN immediately.  You may be entitled to a settlement.  That's 1-800-NO2-ADORN."  And no, I don't have a second head.  The one I have is just big.  Ask my mother.  I've heard about this for the past 48 years now.

And of course, the fact that the South is experiencing weather that can only be described as "Hades Lite" right now...in June...instead of August.  I'll take the hot weather, though, over the string of tornadoes that caused such devastation this past Spring.  Devastation that I actually saw yesterday in Tuscaloosa.  Granted, a lot of the rubble has been knocked down and is being hauled off right now...but it was pretty unreal.  It reminded me how blessed we were that Jill was a mile or so away from it...even though that was scary close.  She got her "time out" from all of the insanity that was involved in getting people out of there and came home in May.  After a month of us, she needed a "time out" again...and is back up there.  Smart girl.

Anyway, I've been having a "time out" of my own lately, which is why I haven't been writing.  I had exhausted myself with activity, was really stressed out with some personal issues, and was apparently low on B vitamins.  The first problem has been rectified by doing things around the house that needed doing, watching the Foo Fighters "Back and Forth" documentary 23 times, and having both children out of this house.  The issues are resolving themselves, and they are what they are.  And I've been popping B-12 and B-6 capsules every day for the past few days...which has helped...a lot.

I know that there are a lot of people out there who wish that they could take a "time out" for just a little while.  People with young, special needs, or ill children.  Folks who are caregivers for aging parents or other special friends.  People going through chemotherapy, divorces, unplanned job losses, bankruptcies, storm related issues, or just a season in life that well...sucks.

If you can, find something to hold onto that brings you joy.  Take mini "time outs" so that you can rest.  Let someone else carry the load for you for a little while if they offer.  And if all else fails...just take a self imposed vacation from life.  Just do what you have to do and nothing else.  Breathe, eat, sleep, work and care for whoever is depending on you and let the rest of it go.

That's what I've been doing for the past few weeks...but I'm out of "time out" now.  I'm feeling much better after two months of senior party chairing-Baccalaureate-graduation-tornado a mile from my daughter in Tuscaloosa-letter received in the mail that was awful-bills-getting clothes for son who has outgrown everything and was headed to France-cleaning out his room while he was gone-work on overdrive-hot weather-need to lose weight again-did I mention money?-and probably a lot of things I'm not mentioning stuff that needed to be worked through before I sat here to write again.

But I'm back.  Hope you are too.