Too Much Time on Your Hands

Published: December 5, 2020

“You’ve got too much time on your hands.” That’s the response I received when I shared the results of one of my recent projects.

“Huh?” Is what I thought, but didn’t verbalize. I was being polite so I shrugged it off. I also took into consideration from whence the comment came.

The Backdrop

I transformed a wooden table into skateboards for my grandkids. On the skateboard, I affixed colorings of their favorite cartoon characters. To re-create the characters, I searched online, found printable coloring pages. I colored the images using permanent color markers. I then carefully cut out the characters and affixed them to the painted skateboards.

To top it off, I applied a top coat of a water-based urethane to give it a sheen and secure the characters in place. I must admit, it came out pretty cool. My grandkids loved them.

All About Perspective

From the other person’s perspective, I’ve got too much time on my hands in order to create something like that. From my perspective, I like creating things, and not doing so is the beginning of my demise.

The commenter is a busy person. Or, I should say this person created a life whereby busyness, chaos and disorganization is a daily routine. I, on the other hand, prefer calm, creativity and order. Our lives are polar opposite.

Choices

No, I do not sit around all day in Lala land humming chants and creating. I too have things that must be done, but I approach things in a different fashion. Much of it comes down to choices. I choose to be proactive rather than reactive.

A reactive life can lead to disorder, busyness and chaos. A proactive life tends to be calmer (not always, but usually). Unfortunately, that person made choices that led to a life of busyness, chaos and disorder. My choices...well, they left me with “too much time on my hands.”

About the Author: I am Felicia A. Williams, a wife, mom, grandma, writer and eternal student.

Last Modified: 3 January 2021