A New Appreciation for 15 Minutes

Well, it seems that this blogging thing isn't coming as naturally as I really thought it would. I am averaging a blog a month which is way short of the 5 a week I thought I would be able to commit to the digital abyss. It's not that I don't have ideas. All day long, I think and think and think of exciting, comical and not-so-comical, thought-provoking topics, comments and ideas upon which I could spew paragraphs and paragraphs. The only drawback to that is that by the time it comes to actually doing anything with those ideas, comments and topics, I seem to falter and fizzle.

I wasn't sure why that was until I spent the day with my oldest son shadowing him in his day at his college (which happens to be USNA). After spending the day with him I have a new found appreciation for the value of 15 minutes. Until that day, 15 minutes was the time to flip through a magazine, read the ads, wander from room to room straightening. In my mind, 15 minutes wasn't enough time to do anything of any relavence. I looked at my time in one hour increments, sometimes more. Sometimes I looked at my time slots as morning, afternoon and evening.

It's not that I don't know what can be done in a day. After raising 4 children, the first 3 stairstep (you know the kind - 3 in diapers - what was I thinking method of having children) with the last coming 10 years after the first, I know what is possible to cram into a day. My days seemed endless and looking back, probably were. I think with age, I sort of lost the drive and went into slow motion. Which isn't a bad thing unless you get too slow - which I think I did.... which isn't a good thing if you're an overachiever like I am. It leaves you feeling terribly unproductive at the end of the day, and dare I say, unfulfilled.

Anyway, after that day which left me exhausted and sore, I'm looking at 15 minutes in a whole new light and now realize just how much I can get done in 15 minutes. For example, in the past week I've used 15 minutes to.....

..... fold and put away 2 loads of laundry and start a 3rd load.
..... make rice krispy treats for my youngest.
..... run 1.5 (well, almost) miles
..... clean 2 bathrooms
..... take a shower and dry my hair
..... unload the dishwasher and reload with all the dirty dishes and do the dishes in the sink
..... you get the point!

So, my new commitment to myself is to spend my new found 15 minutes on this blog... which is just one facet of my multiple personalities. This blog is the side of me that is absolutely devoted to the military and my appreciation for all they do for me and us. It is something inside of me that makes me cry, makes me laugh, makes me clap and makes me proud to be part of the USA. Since I rediscovered the value of 15 minutes at USNA and by watching my military son, it seems only fitting that I use that 15 minutes here recognizing the selfless dedication of our military and the beauty of the US of A.

I'm timing myself and ding... I made it! Now, what to do with the next 15 minutes!

What do you do with your 15 minutes? Let me know the best way you spend 15 minutes... I'd love to hear!!!