Sigh ...

Seems like there have been times in my life when I achieved some balance between work and the necessities of existence, on the one paw, and the time it takes to nurture a family and friendships, on the other. It also seems like it has been a long time since it has been that way ... not since I left Wyoming.

My new work is not as all-consuming as my fundraising work (when you're raising money for a non-profit doing valuable work with insufficient funds, there's no end to the number of places you could look), but is full of regular deadlines that pretty much fill my work week. What little time is left gets lapped up by the snolfs pretty quick ... most of my friends must think I've turned to dust and blown away in the autumn winds.

It's not very romantic, but friendship does take time -- were I to start new dialogs with all my friends online, I could easily spend more time on those conversations than I do at work. I'm reminded of that Kinks song, where the singer laments: "Love takes time, and time is money, and money is scarce." The heart rebels. Love should conquer all, or so our fairy tales teach us. But it doesn't. Poverty conquers love 99 times out of 100, or maybe that's an overly optimistic ratio. (Billy Joel floats up in my mind: "They started to fight, when the money got tight ...") So, for love's sake, as well as many other important values, you gotta do what you gotta do to pay the rent and keep food on the table. This year, I am not going to make it back east to visit with the folks over the holidays. Sigh ...

But I am working on reducing the pecuniary demands on my time, over time. If my friends will bear with me, I should be able to emerge from my work/family shell in less than a year, and be a more visible participant in my friendships once again.

I'm not unhappy, friends, just a little wistful that I can't fit 30/10 into 24/7.

Wolfy hugs to you all.