Welcome To Only Child Diaries

Welcome to the Only Child Diaries Podcast. I'm your host, Tracy Wallace. Have you ever felt like you didn't receive the how-to brochure on life? That you didn't get enough guidance about major life issues? So did I. You don't have to be an only child to feel this way. In my podcast, we'll explore some of the best ways to better navigate adulthood while doing so with humor and light. Welcome everyone to the Only Child Diaries Podcast. Today I'm going to talk about free time. What do you do with your free time? Do you have enough free time? Do you feel like you don't have enough free time? I know. I certainly do not feel like I have enough free time lately. I've been working so much that I really well, I get to the end of my quote unquote work day, which is most of the time here at home, and I'm exhausted, if not physically, because let's face it, I sit here with my laptop all day and I'm on the phone. It's mental exhaustion, right? And really the only full day off that I have is Saturday, where I don't really have to answer to anything or anyone. So that's when I get to do whatever it is that I want to do. Now, sometimes I have to do some errands, but that's okay. And usually for me, it's a choice. Do I want to work outside in my yard or do I want to do things inside? And sometimes, sure, weather dictates that the choice, but most of the time I'd rather be outside than inside. Although I really should spend more time inside. But let's face it, I I'm inside all week long with my laptop. This weekend, I again was outside on Saturday in the yard, and I think I got a lot done. But after a week or a week and a half or so of the construction next door being quiet, Saturday was a busy day. A noisy day. I'm not sure exactly what they were doing, but they were noisy from pretty early in the morning, not super early, luckily, until 5 p.m. Banging, hammering, drilling, loud drilling. It was fun. And then being outside, it was even louder. I got to work on my plants, I got to do some weeding, I got to clean up the leaves, I got to trim back some bushes and plants that needed some tender loving care. But for the most part, I spent the whole day, the whole afternoon outside. And I got a lot done. And then I thought, well, I should come inside and do some work inside, but I just didn't have enough energy or motivation to do that. And what else do I like to do? Well, I do like to binge watch shows or movies. I really should be reading. I know. And I also like looking at my phone. I think I spend too much time looking at my phone, but whereas I used to spend more time looking at social media, I don't really do that anymore. I like to do games, puzzles, things like that on my phone. That really helps me to relax and wind down. I don't get to do that as much as I'd like to. Usually during the week, I don't take many breaks. And when I do, I have to get something done. So um I find myself not looking at my phone all day for messages or texts or whatever. Uh yeah, it's busy. I'm busy, and the next three weeks are gonna be super busy for me. And then I'm trying to figure out how much time I can take off in what groupings so that I don't have to just spend my time off getting all the errands done that I haven't had a chance to do, like taking in my car for service, going and getting my other doctor appointments taken care of. Fun stuff like that, right? I did make a goal for myself this year that I want to paint at least one room in our house. Now, Bill thinks, my husband, Bill thinks that this is um too lofty of a goal, that I shouldn't be on a ladder, but I don't have to be on a ladder to paint a room, right? But and I'm not gonna pick the biggest room, but I think I can paint at least one room. That would make me feel like I've accomplished something because these walls haven't been painted in a long time, let's face it. And yeah, I could hire somebody, but that's just really intrusive, especially for our cat and our dog, who seem to think of this place as theirs and theirs alone. Oh, there's always the stuff I have to do for the animals, like the dog and the cat. I have to take my dog for a walk. But I'm looking right now out at my hummingbird feeder. We have two. We have one in the front and one in the back. And the hummingbirds have been really crazy lately. And whereas the one feeder in the back could last for several days, they've been draining it a lot faster. And then it also needs regular cleaning. So that's that seems like a little bit more of a burden lately, plus cleaning my cat's litter boxes because I like to keep them, you know, clean. Um, and just the other things that I have to do just to maintain the household, not not to make it better than it is, because goodness knows there's so much to do. But I don't know, is are those things is that free time or is that like work? I don't know. I have to ponder it. I guess if you don't mind doing it, then it's free time. But if you don't like it, then it's work, right? Anyway, I digress. Um well that's all I've got for this week. Next week, we'll tackle another topic together. I hope you'll join me. If you like this episode, please follow the Only Child Diaries Podcast on Apple Podcasts or other platforms you might listen on. And consider rating Only Child Diaries and writing a review. It helps others to find us. Please share it with a friend you think might like it as well. Visit my Instagram page, Only Child Diaries, or Facebook, Only Child Diaries Podcast. Thanks for listening. I'm Tracy Wallace, and these are the Only Child Diaries.