Time / Zeit

Today was my first day of classes after five weeks of unorganized time. Sure we did a fair amount of traveling during that period which has its own rhythms, and living with an almost-four-year-old means that there are many demands on your time ALL the time. But, today was the first time where I actually had to be somewhere by a particular time and stay there until a particular time, and it felt great. It felt great to be back in a routine, to be figuring out how I was going to get things done with the time that I had left over, and to be enjoying the time that I had did have left for myself.

Time in Austria goes fast. Both Peter and I have noticed that the mornings, in particular, just slip by. It seems like the both of us are always busy and always having more that we wanted to get done than actually gets done. Sometimes I can't imagine how I ever worked and got "it" all done as well. I think there is a lot of truth to being more efficient when you're busy. Certainly I've found that it can take me a good hour to actually get out the door to go running some days because I think of a dozen or so little things that I'd like to do or check on or think about, and since there's nothing pressing me to get going and get back, I can just take my time.

Life is a lot simpler here than in New Jersey. The days here ebb and flow with a few commitments here and there instead of the complicated multiple overlapping calendars/schedules dictating just about every move from dawn until well into the night. Sometimes I miss that busy-ness, but not the stress that can come with it. It's a healthier way to live, probably, having time to breath and think and just be with one another. If only boarding school life could be so calm.