Finding Time

Most of us live very busy lives. I read an article a couple of years ago that said Americans often don’t take vacations or if they do, they work during their vacation time. I know that is true for our family. There are a lot of reasons why it is hard for us to get away, but I’m not convinced any of them are good ones. Of all the things we have, time is the only thing we can’t get back once it is lost.

Hunting season is the one time of year we really try to take time off work and spend time as a family. Some years that works better than others. Last year I was able to spend nine days camping. Granted, I had to check my e-mail once each day, but luckily the phone signal was so poor that phone calls were tough. That was not the case for my husband. He spent the whole hunting season trying to steal away for a day here and there. It was very stressful. This year we are determined to do better. Time tends to slow down around a campfire. We need that time to connect as a family. Work will wait.

My husband and I are both attorneys. For the last couple of years I have been a government attorney with vacation time. I try to use every bit of it. My husband is a private practice attorney. That is a very different thing. As any small business owner knows, time away is time with no income.

When I was in private practice I represented a client who taught me a very important lesson. As I was getting to know him he and I talked about fishing. He was retired and fished a lot. During the course of representing him I spent a couple of weeks trying to reach him so he could sign some documents. Eventually he returned my calls and came to the office. When I expressed my frustration at not being able to reach him, he turned to me and asked how many times that year I had been fishing. When I told him I hadn’t had time to go fishing that summer he chastised me and said neither his case or anyone else’s was more important than finding time to go fishing. I will never forget him. He was absolutely right.