happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July to you Americans out there! And happy birthday to Paul Kwinn!

Jodi, Allison and I got a letter from the Canadian Cancer Society yesterday, thanking us for our support of the Relay For Life event. Apparently the two Toronto events raised over $325,000, which is pretty cool. More than 33,000 people participated in Relay For Life events across Canada in June, raising almost $8 million. Proceeds will be used to fund research on all types of cancer as well as help support people living with cancer and their family and friends.

Way too humid in Toronto to do much outdoor running these days, so I ran on the treadmill at my health club yesterday instead. Treadmill running is not nearly as fun as outdoor running, but I did find out that I can run for 40 minutes without stopping at about a 13 minute mile pace (which, for the information of all you non-runners out there, is pretty darned slow compared to experienced runners). Good workout for me, though.

I took Jeff's iPod to the gym with me yesterday and listened to some Neil Young. I hated Neil Young when I first heard him (way too whiney) but his voice has grown on me, creeping up on me from behind like a mugger hiding in an alleyway. I find his off-key nasal meanderings comforting somehow.

I'm hoping it rains later today so I can go running outside.





I can't believe it's July already. The spring whizzed right past with barely time for a jump in the lake at ice-out. It astounds and horrifies me how quickly time can slip away. I've been more conscious of how I spend my time since members of my family have been snatched away without little or no warning in the past, but I'm also still aware of how easy it is to whittle away the hours of day doing non-essential nitpicky things rather than focussing on what's really important.

One of the main things I've learned is the necessity of prioritizing. And acknowledging that fact that I can't do everything that I want to do, that it's better to give up some things in order to better be able to enjoy others. It's tough sometimes, though.

One exercise I've found highly illuminating was to keep a time log of how I spend a typical day. Not just recording major tasks completed, but recording absolutely every activity I did during a day, and how long it takes. I was amazed at how much time I was wasting, procrastinating, frittering away on things that distracted me from the real task(s) at hand. Or making relatively simple tasks much more difficult and involved than they had a right to be, so that by the end of a day it was far too easy to say, "I didn't get X done because geez, I was so busy!"

I've found that talking to parents who work at home about this sort of thing inspirational, a virtual slap in the head or wake-up call. I feel stupid whining about how little time I have when people like my sister are finding ways to carve out highly efficient work time despite the hectic schedule-juggling necessary while raising kids.

In fact, I had similar conversations with both my sister, a children's book illustrator, and Maya Bohnhoff, who is a professional sf/fantasy writer as well as a mother of two (soon three!!). They both said that they don't have the luxury of easing into workmode or getting inspired...when they find/make available time during the day or night, they're able to transition into super-productive mode right away, to make the most of every minute. My friend Michelle does most of her writing after the kids have gone to bed after an already full day. I don't know how she does it; my brain generally turns to mush after 10 pm. I suspect that they can each get more accomplished in a single hour than many could get done in a day.

Maybe it's a special gene that only parents, especially mothers, have? Whatever the case, I wish I had it. And no, Luisa, I'm not willing to have children so I can get it. :-)

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Today's Blatherpics:

	Sara at the cottage in her watergun battle gear.
	Jodi and Allison at the Relay For Life event last month.
	Reid at the cottage on the weekend.