Boredom is Not My Problem

Yesterday after work Ben said to me, “Remember being bored?” And I laughed not just because I knew why he was asking, not just because it was a funny way to put it, but also because I do remember being bored and it was a long, long time ago. One of the things I’ve always said about my adult life was, no matter what else it was never boring. Honestly, if you’re living life at all, boredom shouldn’t be anyone’s problem. For one thing, the world is just too fascinating, and for another, life is sometimes too painful, and for another, if you have the luxury of being bored, you should be out fixing what’s wrong in the world, which will make you less bored I am sure. Anyway, as an adult I’ve rarely been bored because there’s just too much to do and not enough time, and even as a kid I was always good at occupying myself, writing, reading, listening to records, crafting! I think some part of it was being an only child with no one right at home to divert me, but then again I was a curious kid so I wasn’t one to just sit around wondering what to do – but, as I said to Ben, I think part of why kids get bored is because the perception of time, something I’ve talked about here before, is SO slow when you’re young. Anyway, this was back in the day before kids were consumed the way I hear they are these days with after-school activities every day and hours of homework and whatever else. Honestly, it made me think, god, I hope that my kids do get bored every once in a while, rather than being overextended. My problem these days is in essence the opposite of boredom – sometimes I have so many options and/or things I have to do, that I don’t know what to do first, resulting in a sort of overwhelmed paralysis. Which isn’t any more fun, but it’s not boring.