The afternoon is the worst part of the day for me, which is why I love my job watching the kids three-four afternoons a week. On the days I don’t work, though, I tend to get very aimless during the hours between 1 and 5. I wander around the house feeling overwhelmed by unfinished projects, I snack and snack and snack, I check my email incessantly, I sometimes turn on the tv and see what is on cable (the ultimate in desperation, I think), I stare out the window waiting for the UPS man to come and deliver something wonderful on my doorstep. Basically, I kill time. And I hate killing time, because time is so precious.
I try to have a plan for the afternoons I know I’ll be home. I make sure I have a pot of tea, a book to read, a project to work on. But somedays, I just peter out before I can get to the planning stage. If I were a napper, and I’m not, but if I were a napper, I would sleep every afternoon.
What do you do with your worst part of the day?
Does anyone have a suggestion for me? Or two? Or three??
I clean.
Or play Nertz.
Or read.
Or cook.
Come over and see me and we can go to greenhouses and smell freshly steamed dirt…or we could manufacture some soup and fragrant rolls from the oven…or we could troll through old books at the thrift store…or you could help me get rid of stuff…or go for another tramp through the woods. I think you should just spend some time with me.