That's Just Three Things

Now, I am a semi-busy woman most seasons of the year. The excuse is summer. When I have nothing to do, I create tasks, and cope with my crippling busyness by adding more and more events and responsibilities. It’s not the best tactic, but it is the way that I work. Last summer, to deal with the fact that I did not have enough to do, I started listening to half a dozen podcasts. I filled my brain with medical history, comedy, human behavior, and astronomy and English football news. You’d think that would be enough, but not for this lady. But that is the way that I work. What may seem like too much for someone is just my cup of tea. This week, I am working through the 5 classes I am enrolled in, creating advertisements and preparing for a medical art show in the middle of November, and watching, feeding, and driving around a family of three. Four if you count their puppy. I am overwhelmed and loving every minute of it.

Call me crazy.

Last night, battling and endless wall of standstill traffic on my way to night class, I heard the most incredible story. I was on the phone with my best friend, who was quelling the growing fear that I would be late to one of my events by talking about the things she had done that day. She told me about her frustrating day at work, funny things she had learned, stuff her husband says, and a story that made me a bit more proud of people than I was before. It made me think a little differently about the way I approach work. So, I will share it with you.

My boyfriend’s cousin, Charlie, is an insightful third grader who never ceases to blow me away with his imagination and the incredible ideas his mind cooks up. Just this last week, his mom “wasn’t paying attention to him enough,” so he went on Pinterest and spent his free time making wholesome Halloween crafts he found. Their house is littered with toilet paper roll bats and pipe cleaner spiders. There is even a milk jug that he carved a spooky face into and filled with last year’s rock hard Halloween candy. There’s a pitcher that stands quietly in the fridge, holding the leftover milk that was sacrificed for the creation of the milk-o-lantern. In short, he is wild and creative and inspirational. After hearing about a student at his school who gave up on art, he said “I won’t ever stop doing art. If I was ever bad at it, I would laugh and start again.”

Now that I’ve sang this kid’s praises to you, I’ll tell my story.

A couple months ago, my best friend asked Charlie what he wanted to be when he grew up. Without a beat, he responded that, of course, he wanted to be a rocket scientist. My best friend looked at him amazed and said “You know, Charlie, you are going to have to go to a good school, study really hard, and be very good at your job.”

To this he stated, as if it should have been clear to the rest of us too, “that’s just three things.”

If we could look at our busy days, our seemingly impossible seasons, our adult lives, and treat them like Charlie treats being a rocket scientist, everything would be much simpler. I have projects and tests for 5 classes, the medical art show on the 16th of November, and babysitting this week.

But that’s just three things.