Good-bye, Old Friend

It is a sad day.

My constant companion of the past five years has gone to sleep for the last time.  

My dear design school laptop.

We went through everything together.  My first design project.  My last design project.  Every project in-between.  Countless late and sleepless nights.  We planned parties together.  Played games together.  Planned a wedding together.  Created surprises together.  He played music and videos for me, constantly and uncomplainingly.  And in the end he was just worn out.  Three power cords and two batteries later...it was just getting to be too much for him.  I don't blame him.  He worked so hard.

One of our first projects together.  You can tell we've been there all night due to my lack of makeup and any attempt to do anything with my hair...

And junior year.  Who could forget our office project?  I guess it's a miracle he lasted this long, considering that I never spilled anything on him, even though I had drinks such as that extra-large-vanilla-latte-triple-shot-whatever next to him so very often....

It's kind of amazing, actually, all of the things that have happened during the past five years or so, that this laptop has been a part of. Things that he enabled me to do.  I am sure going to miss my design school laptop.  

But in the meantime...

  

I have a new friend to get to know.

Free Time

So far with the extra free time I have had (from not having an evening job) during the past month, I have...

• met friends for coffee
• started yoga again
• felt free to go back home for an entire week for support and love following a family tragedy
• had friends over for dinner
• finally taken advantage of Restaurant Week
• begun projects for the apartment that I have been waiting on
• spent more time reading my Bible
• had more time with the hubby
• painted my nails
• been able to cook and bake much more often

so, so far...

free time rocks.

In fact, I think free time is fantastic.  Before, when I would be doing just-because-I-like-doing-them things, (i.e. cooking, design things, catching up on my  Real Housewives, etc.), I would feel guilty.  Guilty that I really had other "more important" things that I should be doing.  Things that were related to work.  In fact, sometimes doing these things that I enjoyed doing almost felt like chores.  Self:  "If you don't bake these cookies right now you won't have any other time to do it.  You like doing this, remember?  Now bake, dammit!"  But now my free time is just that.  My free time.  (Ok, if you want to get technical, it's actually God's time, but it's kind of like He is giving it to me, so then it is sort of like my free time again, right?)

Being raised in a world and culture where everyone is all "go-go-go" and a mark of success--even badge of HONOR--seems to be having NO free time, this is nothing short of a revelation.  The culture I was raised in looked DOWN on those who had free time.  They were dismissed as slackers.  It has honestly taken me until now to not look down on people whose time is not filled up with work and activities.  

Obviously, I have never really had free time.  Not in high school, when extracurricular activities and homework took up my after-school hours, not in college, where work and design projects dominated my time, and not even post-college, when wedding planning and work literally took over my days, evenings, and weekends.

Not until now.

This is amazing.


Also amazing?  My gold-tipped nails.  Which I was able to do myself.  Because I have free time.  Win.

Nothin like puttin a little extra bling in your day.

***I think it is important to note that while I now have extra free time, it is NOT idle time.  It is time to build myself up, while pursuing activities, interests, and relationships in my life.  Yup, even while watching the Real Housewives.