Reconnecting

I've had the distinct pleasure of recently reconnecting with one of my cousins on my mother's side. We've had fun discovering how our lives have been both similar and dissimilar, reminisced about long ago Christmastimes and generally begun creating a friendship I hope will be long-lasting.

It makes me wonder how many of my other cousins would have an interest in rekindling family ties. I have cousins that range in age from my parents' age to my son's age who are scattered all across the country... What sort of fun might we all have if we could interact easily? It kind of makes me want to start building a family tree website where we could all "meet" and share our lives a little more frequently than we otherwise would. I know it's not a new idea, but it could sure be interesting!

Allocating Stolen Moments

So, perhaps I'm not the only one who utilizes time "on the clock" to accomplish tasks other than those assigned to me by my employer, but I'm sure I get some of the most creative use out of that time!

I've put together post card mailings, created web sites (and blogs), retraced family roots, paid bills, gone on online shopping sprees, caught up with current events worldwide, researched obscure subject matter, written short stories, slept (yup, slept), and even took time to just do nothing at all.

Which makes me think about a couple things in particular:

What if I had allocated those stolen moments to something truly productive or, in more specific terms, lucrative? How could I have (let's think business for a minute) leveraged my time and created a product or service from which I could earn income? I admit, I have done extensive research on different ways to make money; I've simply never followed through with any of them.

Also, I often wonder: if I was working in a field for which I had true passion, would I be as likely to look for diversions or would I spend those "free" moments hunting for ways to further my knowledge and experience in those areas I find rewarding? I want to believe the best of myself but I have to realize that almost everyone needs an escape from even those things they are most passionate about sometimes.

Finally, I have to reflect on those things I do have the most passion for at this moment (in random order):
Healthful Eating/Cooking
Writing
Crocheting
My Young but Maturing Family
Spiritual Growth (no definable path)

I know that even in the wake of an impending (inevitable?) change of employment, I know I will probably always have "stolen moments" during which I can continue to grow and evolve - and those moments mean the world to me!