Free time

Many moons ago I taught middle school in Boston. One question that frequently arose was, “Can we have free time?” to which I tactfully responded some teacher-appropriate crap. But in hindsight, I think a better response would have been, “You need MORE free time?”

I don’t know what is going on these days. People so often complain about having too little “free” time. I, however, am quite the opposite – I have way too much!

My day starts early, I work full-time, I have a long commute, I eat meals, I chat with friends, I indulge myself in my hobbies and interests, I exercise, I have a social life. In short: I have good outlets for my time. Yet somehow, I’m always left with TOO much time on my hands.

But what’s the big deal with free time anyway? I have plenty of it, and I am no happier or more relaxed than the rest of the bunch. I’ve decided that people should be happy having LESS free time. It causes anxiety. And if you’re like me, you’ll just feel guilty for not volunteering at a soup kitchen, brokering world peace, or performing some noble humanitarian deed. So really, lack of free time is a blessing in disguise!

I think my noble humanitarian deed should be offering my free time to others. Then maybe everyone would be happy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some daydreaming to do.