Wednesday, March 21, 2012

My time or our time?


I'm reading a book right now called "Teaching the Commons" by Paul Theobald. Among other things, he talks of how the community-oriented worldview has, largely, been replaced by an individualistic worldview. Recommendation letters focus on how successful a person is (individualistic) rather than how virtuous they are (community-centered). This is particularly true when it comes to time. We guard our time fiercely. Did you know that clocks were first invented in the 1200s, and that minute hands weren't used until almost 1700? Imagine how that must have changed people's lifestyles...

So what happens when time intersects with relationships? Time forces us to choose our priorities. Relationships, we like to think, are our highest priority. Sometimes Time illuminates the situation differently though . . . especially during that long stretch in between our early childhood and our golden years (for Harry Chapin's melodic rendering of that point, click here). 





This struggle to allocate time for what I uphold as my highest priority seems more difficult than ever now in grad school (although, ask me in a few months when I'm a father, and I'm sure I'll say this present period was a piece of cake!) I tell myself that I need to put relationships on hold, so that I can secure a desirable job, so that I can have more time for relationships. But that argument sounds flimsy, even to someone whose To Do List is expanding like one of those foam animal capsules that kids put in water. 

So, I made the resolution this year to treasure relationships and visibly prioritize them. Luckily, this resolution is made easy by the beautiful relationships that Joo and I are surrounded with. The last post showed of a weekend in a cabin with family, and next weekend, we'll be doing a similar get-together at a historic bed-and-breakfast mill. The pictures above and below were snapped from a delightful evening with Randy and Marla.


Wes and Jenny came out for a weekend of walks, laughter, chocolate cookies, yoga, and hot drinks.



Drew, Laura, and Roxie stopped over a couple times, and also shared a gorgeous Valentine's Day dinner with us (see the flower-imbued pasta below).



And we even gained a new person to spend time with when Yun-hee had her baby! 

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