Did you ever run away from home as a child? It took some planning and some guts, didn’t it. You probably got no further than half way down the block or more than a few hundred yards behind you home in the woods before you turned around or were found by one of your parents. But for most of us we actually never did get to the point of actually running away. We thought about it, we maybe even planned it, but we didn’t do it. Why not? Because we were afraid. We were afraid of danger and the unknown, afraid of starving or getting lost, afraid of not having any help and afraid of hurting those we left behind, especially if we had brothers or sisters younger than we were.
Run Away Adult
I remember my ex-wife at one point in our final throes of divorce saying there had been many times during our marriage she just wanted to run away. Just have it all be gone, have me gone. I have heard many other women since then say the same thing, and I have seen even more people say it on Facebook or Twitter. They say it with humor, but underneath they are serious in their desire to escape.
Why don’t they run away? In many ways the reasons are the same as for kids. They are afraid of danger, the unknown, starvation, getting lost, not having support or help, and abandoning those left behind. Hopefully for an adult the last item on the list is much more important. It is no longer about just what the person running away wants, it’s about the responsibility one has to those still remaining. The children who don’t deserve to be abandoned, the home, the neighbors, the family, the friends, the work, whatever it is. There is a feeling of obligation – I have to face my worries, my fears, my burdens and work through them the best I can.
In the end, that is what makes a soldier a true military hero, and it is what makes a parent an everyday hero.
This quote, ‘What can be done at any time is never done at all’ probably exemplifies my procrastination nemesis more than any other. I like deadlines. I fail at deadlines sometimes but not nearly as much as when I don’t have any at all.
Busy Boy
Another element that really helps me is to be busy. It makes for a certain amount of stress, but not so much as to be negative. When I am busy, like I am now, I think faster, I act faster, and I make plans better. I have to fit something into a smaller time slot and that helps me focus my time and my brain.
I am in the middle of helping my daughter move into her first ‘big girl’ apartment in Dallas. A lot of moving, truck renting, decision making, appliance buying, etc. etc. I have to fit everything else, my clients (who I am not ignoring if you are reading this, I AM working on that header), my dog who has a torn ACL and has to be crated and walked every few hours (not fun for her), my running group that I organize and lead 5 days a week, and my photo group I help lead by doing the library presentations (one of which is tonight and I just came up with the topic this morning).
Blog World here I come
All the while I am preparing for Blog World. And I am actually preparing better for it because I am so busy. At least I think I am. You be the judge when you come to my session if you attend, ok?