The Zen of Errands

Running errands is both irritating and soothing. There's something satisfying in checking those tasks off one's mental list, but there's also the mundaneness of it all and the sense that you should be doing something else--exercising? writing? reading?--with that lingering afternoon light. I was walking around Target tonight, after having grabbed some groceries and gotten the car washed, when I tried to figure out how in the world I would do those things with a baby in tow.

I might be crazy, but I don't think you can do two hours of errands at the end of the day with a baby. How does who's a parent get anything done? I've heard parents lament the total lack of personal time and space that comes with having a child, but I haven't really thought in a detailed way about how having a baby will radically alter the way I manage the practical, quotidian pressures of groceries, dinners, cats, cars, the mail, paying bills...Life.

It already seems that, "The hurrier I go the behinder I get." I'd better learn to appreciate how much time I really do have now, even if I always feel like I should be getting more accomplished. Or maybe, the whole concepts of accomplishment and what "needs" to get done just change when you have a child?