Missing the obvious

Have you ever felt that most of life is about realizing the obvious? Do you struggle for years with something till one day the solution comes to you in a swift a-ha moment? And do you, when you sit down to think about it come to realize that your a-ha moment is the stuff they hawk in self-help books on M.G Road for fifteen rupees? If you answered yes to the questions above let me assure you that you are not alone. It happens to me all the time too.

Taking care of an infant without familial support is an all-consuming task - an obvious fact that never registered with me although I've heard it said several times. When people spoke about parental sacrifices I did not realize that they meant basic things like not being able to read a book, soak in the tub or have an uninterrupted conversation with your mother on the telephone. It was with shock that I realized that the most basic of activities require detailed planning, something I can't say I’m very good at. I've had one real vacation since Feb of 2008 in which I spent 70% of my time in a hotel room, read two books in twelve months and probably watched the same number of movies. I was doing nothing yet time was slipping through my hands. I was beginning to feel a little bit trapped in my life.

And then R suggested that I try to attack the day 15 minutes at a time. How about I try to play the violin 15 mins a day when Sanjay is napping, get a 15 min afternoon snooze over the weekend, spend 15 mins cleaning the kitchen etc? How about I look at the day as 15 mins times 96? I began doing this in earnest and sure enough it made a difference. After a year i actually wrote a blog post. I was able to practice the violin at least 2-3 times a week. I even get to read a few pages of a book every once in a while. Minutes add up to hours, hours to days and days to months. I always knew that but it took thirty two years to internalize it.

Fourteen minutes down, one to go. Perhaps I can fill my timesheet with the spare.