Southern Musings

Whether you are having a party or a cookout, the time has come for one final fling of the summer. Hopefully you live in the South where you can squeeze in another weekend cookout or day on the water. Since this is the last “holiday” of summer, then even here in the South, we must at least give the appearance of considering this our final fling of the summer.

How to spend the day or the weekend is the question that is on the minds of many people. At least it is on mine today. What to do? The day was began by a labor union that planned on the day being filled with parades and speeches given by leaders. Should I have a cookout that lasts all weekend long? Maybe take a daytrip somewhere? Just kick back and relax and enjoy the extra time with my family? Decisions, decisions, they surround me everywhere I go.

I have managed to squeeze in a few more days at work due to people heading off to the beach for the weekend. There are times that I wish I could join them, then I think of the crowds and remember how nice and quiet it will be at home. I can feel the stress rushing away as I type.

Although the boys will be out of school and my husband may be off work, there is still the chance that my oldest son will be called into work. Since I would prefer to avoid the crowds and simply relax, the decisions have been limited to a cookout or just hanging out at home. As I leave work today, I will need to have my mind made up. Or if I decide to just leave it all up to chance and not plan, I could pick up any items needed for a small family cookout or items to cook quickly inside. Then I would be ready for the weekend without breaking the bank with an elaborate trip or huge party.

Since the day is still young and the weekend is still a few days away, I think I shall ponder on this decision throughout my day. If you have not made up your mind how to spend the weekend, I suggest taking a look at a brief article on the history of the day which can be viewed at http://www.socyberty.com/Holidays/History-of-Labor-Day.229807. I know I personally will not be attending any parades or speeches given by labor leaders. Instead I will be sending up prayers for the families of all those that have helped change the working conditions in the past and for those leaders that will continue to improve conditions for the future. Then, I will enjoy my day with my family. I hope that you will take a few minutes to learn about the holiday and remember those it is designed to honor as you enjoy your day your way.

In the rush of everyday life, finding a few minutes is a treasure. Especially when those precious minutes were found by doing less of the things you rather not do. I love to cook. I just do not enjoy cooking every day. So the thought of walking into that kitchen each and every day to deal with the torture of finding a suitable meal that my picky family will enjoy is enough to send me running out of the house screaming my head off.

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With the hectic pace of life today, it is hard to find time to do everything that needs to be done. Sometimes we just can’t fit in everything that needs to be done. That is when we need to stop and take stock of our lives and see if we can find time since we can not slow down the pace.

Where do we find the time though? First, we look for ways to cut out unnecessary time wasters. Is there something that can be cut from your schedule? Is there something that could be done less frequently and not take more time? Of course some things, like sleep, we have to do in certain amounts. Others, like cooking, we can find ways to speed up the process.

Cutting out something or speeding things up can not be done haphazardly. If they are, then more problems may be the result. Sometimes we can learn from other’s experiences. As I begin my own personal experiment with searching for ways to find time in my schedule, I will share the results with you. Both bad and good results and my thoughts on them will be part of a new section here called Finding Time.

Since this is a new experiment and I have no prior experience with this, the outcome is anyone’s guess. It might end up disastrous or it may end up being a success. It may provide many laughs for both my family and those who read about it. Time will tell if I can find ways of finding time successfully.