As I sit here this morning I am tired.
Last week I was visiting with a friend at the bank and she asked how my vacation was going. I told her that sometimes I think I would prefer working rather than being on a summer vacation. (Who said that? I’m sure I couldn’t have said that!)
It seems like the faster I go the behinder I get.
Last week when I interviewed the new manager at Farmers Coop Elevator in Montevideo he was making coffee for a patron, weighing in semi-trucks, talking with his sidekick and answering call after call to buy and sell grain. He never missed a beat. It reminded me of years ago when I worked for KDMA Radio. Back then I had a sign on my desk: Caution multi-tasker in motion. I could juggle talking with three or four clients on the phone, preparing radio ad copy while carrying on a conversation with the boss – and plan what to make for supper at the same time.
What happened?
I know more about how the human brain functions now, but I have never learned why it slows down. Or maybe, it’s not the brain, maybe it’s the rest of the body that can no longer keep up. Nope, it’s the brain.
A few minutes ago I wrote a check to pay a bill and noticed that I only had three check blanks left in my checkbook. I got up from the table, walked over to the cabinet that has the check blanks in it; stopped and looked around, shook my head and went back to the table saying to myself, “Why was I going over to the cabinet?” I didn’t even say to myself, “What was I going to get?” I forgot I was going to get something until I got back to the table and saw the almost empty checkbook. Yesterday I was eating a Whopper at the Whopper Feed at my church. Al Gislason sat down next to me and asked me if I was still working at the paper. “Yep, at the paper part- time, here at the church part-time and at the ALC in Monte part-time,” I answered.
He talked about how a friend of his had suggested that he teach ping-pong skills to the kids in the community. (For those of you who do not know, Al is one accomplished ping-pong player.) He admitted that he has the time, but says he no longer has the energy.
I started to think…he longer has the energy…that’s what happens to me. I’m not old; I run out of gas. I don’t have the energy to carry on multiple tasks at one time. In fact, I sometimes feel that I have morphed into a modern automobile, an electric car. I need to stop and plug in to recharge my batteries every day about 4:00 pm-5:00 pm. (My mom used to call the recharging time a ‘power nap’.)
I feel so much better now that I have come to the conclusion that I am not too old to do things, I just need time to recharge my batteries.
By the time you read this, I will be charging up with solar power on a beach at the lake.
I knew there were three good reasons for teaching: June, July and August.
|
|
|
As I sit here this morning I am tired.
Last week I was visiting with a friend at the bank and she asked how my vacation was going. I told her that sometimes I think I would prefer working rather than being on a summer vacation. (Who said that? I’m sure I couldn’t have said that!)
It seems like the faster I go the behinder I get.
Last week when I interviewed the new manager at Farmers Coop Elevator in Montevideo he was making coffee for a patron, weighing in semi-trucks, talking with his sidekick and answering call after call to buy and sell grain. He never missed a beat. It reminded me of years ago when I worked for KDMA Radio. Back then I had a sign on my desk: Caution multi-tasker in motion. I could juggle talking with three or four clients on the phone, preparing radio ad copy while carrying on a conversation with the boss – and plan what to make for supper at the same time.
What happened?
I know more about how the human brain functions now, but I have never learned why it slows down. Or maybe, it’s not the brain, maybe it’s the rest of the body that can no longer keep up. Nope, it’s the brain.
A few minutes ago I wrote a check to pay a bill and noticed that I only had three check blanks left in my checkbook. I got up from the table, walked over to the cabinet that has the check blanks in it; stopped and looked around, shook my head and went back to the table saying to myself, “Why was I going over to the cabinet?” I didn’t even say to myself, “What was I going to get?” I forgot I was going to get something until I got back to the table and saw the almost empty checkbook. Yesterday I was eating a Whopper at the Whopper Feed at my church. Al Gislason sat down next to me and asked me if I was still working at the paper. “Yep, at the paper part- time, here at the church part-time and at the ALC in Monte part-time,” I answered.
He talked about how a friend of his had suggested that he teach ping-pong skills to the kids in the community. (For those of you who do not know, Al is one accomplished ping-pong player.) He admitted that he has the time, but says he no longer has the energy.
I started to think…he longer has the energy…that’s what happens to me. I’m not old; I run out of gas. I don’t have the energy to carry on multiple tasks at one time. In fact, I sometimes feel that I have morphed into a modern automobile, an electric car. I need to stop and plug in to recharge my batteries every day about 4:00 pm-5:00 pm. (My mom used to call the recharging time a ‘power nap’.)
I feel so much better now that I have come to the conclusion that I am not too old to do things, I just need time to recharge my batteries.
By the time you read this, I will be charging up with solar power on a beach at the lake.
I knew there were three good reasons for teaching: June, July and August.
