Mamma Mia, I love Sweet Scoops

Warning, if you're only interested in learning more about social media measurement, come back on Monday because today is Saturday, and I'm taking a day off from measurement to just write. I'm staying in a friends gorgeous apartment overlooking the Oyster River (it's for rent by the way if you're looking for a to-die-for place on the Seacoast of NH) . Remnants of Hurricane Ida are making today a classic rainy fall day, and the notion that I have two whole days with nothing on my agenda is inspiring me to write. I've spent the last two weeks on the road at amazing conferences, talking to really smart people and needless to say have a lot to write about. But before I get to that... there's what I'm calling the Mamma Mia post.

This should probably be on the Sweet Scoops blog, but since they haven't started it yet, here goes. First of all SweetScoops is what I call "the No Confession Confection" -- a creamy wonderful frozen yogurt that tastes like really rich premiuim ice cream but has half the calories.  So when I'm feeling like I really need to indulge my sweet tooth, I pick up some of their Ginger or Mudslide or Blueberry and feel wonderfully self-indulgent, but not nearly as guilty as I normally would.

Which got me, a wickedly lapsed Catholic, thinking about guilt and indulgence and all those decisions we make every day that seem to be all about achieving some balance between the two. Normally, when I have a bunch of writing to do and I have 5 hours on a cross country flight, I'll whip out my computer and write like crazy until I run out of battery power. That's what the "good" Katie Paine would do. The "bad" Katie Paine would watch Mamma Mia the movie. A movie with no redeeming intellectual value, but with a bunch of music I adore.

So last week I had this conversation with my friend Pam that took place while I was making my annual batch of apple Thyme jelly:

Pam: "Why can't I grow time"

Katie: "That's an incredibly profound question"

Pam: "Not really, I plant it every year and it never comes back"

Katie: "That's even more profound. What would happen if it did? "

What would happen, I wondered if somehow the time you "Spend" could actually be redeposited in your life. You wouldn't have to make nearly as many decisions.

Philosophers and parents might lead you to believe that  life is made up of big decisions, but life is really made up of a continuous stream of tiny choices that somehow become the story of your life. I live in a world where, in order to achieve a bit of balance,  I am constantly shushing the  voices of the Puritans, the Catholics and the other guilt mongers I grew up with, and just take a break. But if you could "grow time" you wouldn't have to make those diminutive decisions. You could actually have a time for everything in the season.

• A time to indulge in desert and a time to "eat healthy."
• A time to watch a movie  on the flight home, AND time to plow thru 300 emails.
• A time to read that "bodice ripper" AND time to read a report.
• A time to listen to all those podcasts of "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me AND a time to return all those phone calls
• A time to the green house AND clean the bathroom
• A time to feed your funny bone watching all those Jon Stewart episodes you tivoed AND time to feed the cat
• A time dream your next garden AND time to weed the one you have
• A time to run thru the mountains, or back roads or streets of town you’ve never been to before AND time to run thru spread sheets 
• A time to sail away AND a time to make sales.
• A time to write a friend a hand written note AND time to write up the meeting notes 
• A time to comfort a friend in trouble AND time to stay up on your contacts on Twitter
• A time to walk with a friend AND time to talk to a client.
• A time focus on the beauty of an autumn afternoon AND time to focus on the numbers 
• A time pay attention to wildlife (#NWF)  AND time to pay attention to profits
• A time to forage for new plants AND time to forage for new clients
• A time to make pickles & piccalilli  AND a time to make speeches
• A time to stop everything and get out and listen to a friend play your favorite music and a time to stop everything and finish the damn report.

This is what my life is made up of, and I thank Sweet Scoops for taking decision #1 off my list.What's your life made up of?

Comments

[Louise]

Mamma Mia is one of my favourite musicals. I know all the words by heart so it was nice to remember again in your post. Thanks for bringing back some fond memories about it. This weekend I’m going to visit my sister and we get pretty good ticket from Ticketsinventory.com
So I'll be analyzing as well as enjoying that show. I know that I will enjoy every blessed minute of it!

[Pam Weeks]

Thanks for sharing, Katie! From that Pam, currently in California, taking the time to spend with a slowly dying father instead of writing that book! It's the right time. And, I used the little bit of thyme I was able to grow in today's Sunday Dinner. Roast Chicken with thyme, roast veggies and onion gravy. Pear tart to follow. It's cold here, but beautiful.