Free Time

There are different stages of life and each dictates how much free time you have and how you choose to spend it.

Today, my wife and I are spending a Saturday in Mission Dolores Park, which attracts quite a diverse crowd of San Franciscians. This is our first visit to this outdoor venue and part of our “try as much as possible in our new home” adventure.

We spent many hours in parks when our kids were young, but it was more about access to playgrounds for them than exploring the north side of Houston. When you have young children, your free time is devoted to them—or most of it at least.

Prior to having kids, we wasted our free time. Worse, we didn’t realize we had any. We groused about how little time we had to do anything. HAH! Three kids later and we couldn’t figure out what the hell we were thinking.

Now in our third stage with our adult children in Texas, we cherish our free time. It’s a gift that may get consumed at any point with heavy work schedules or health issues. Today we are healthy, happy, and have the weekend to soak up life. Unlike the foolish newlyweds with myopic views of our world, we are sitting now on top of 50 years of life and can see so much more—albeit with the required glasses that come with older eyes.

I wish you free time, the ability to appreciate it, and a thirst for diversity.