Time is love

In yet another wonderful example of generosity (pay it forward, y'all - it's for real), my voice teacher has lent me a car for this week, so I can run errands, get groceries, and haul bags of crap from the house in preparation for the move.  Since I would never presume to change someone else's radio presets, I've been listening to the country music station.  In my seven years in Boston, I don't think I even knew we had one, but there it is.  As with any popular music station, there are a few songs that turn up on repeat - this week's tune is "Time Is Love," which google tells me is by a guy named Josh Turner.  While having lunch with my pal Jack (he's 82, and every few months, we have a barn-burning lunch that usually involves him strategizing on how we can take over the world), I confessed to him that I felt a certain sense of defeat when I agreed to have packers pack our house for the move.  I don't know what that thing is inside me that says, "You must pack your own house!  You must do it all yourself!  Anything less is a sign of weakness!" but I told Jack I'm trying to get a handle on it.  How many times did I sacrifice time or convenience, just to save a few bucks?  Ten years ago, taking flights at crazy times, cutting into visits with family or friends, simply because it was cheaper.  And not a lot cheaper, not hundreds of dollars cheaper, just a little. 

No more.  Other people are packing this house, because I have a limited amount of time at home, and I want to spend it with my husband and my dog.  I'm taking the train back to Boston for one night between gigs next month, and the company I'm going to on the next day will have to expect that I'm arriving a little later, because I want to sleep in my own bed, pet my dog, and eat breakfast with my husband, before I go away for another few weeks of work.  Now, more than ever, it's going to be tremendously important to prioritize people over savings, quality time over someone else's time.  My career is doing everything I hoped it would, all at once, and that means time far, far away.  So between gigs, I'm going to guard and protect that quality time.  I'm going to get the nonstop flight that gets me home fastest.  I'm going to turn off my phone when we sit down to dinner.  It's rare that I can say country music brought enlightenment to my life, but this week I learned that time is love.  And I need more love in my life, and more opportunity to share it with the ones I care about. 

What are you doing, sitting here, reading my blog?  Go call someone you love and tell them so.