Why Do You Have So Much Time on Your Hands?
Is what the US border patrol agent asked us as we returned to the US after three and a half weeks in British Columbia.
“We work remote,” I replied.
“Doing what?” he asked.
“I’m a teacher and she’s a nurse,” I said.
“How does one teach remote?” he wondered.
I often wonder the same thing as that dreary-eyed border patrol agent. Why do I have so much time on my hands? I’ve spent so much time wondering why I have so much time. Is having too much time a problem? The border patrol agent made it seem like it is. But I thought people aspire to have more time. Don’t we complain about not having enough? My dad used to always say,“there aren’t enough hours in the day.” Now that I finally have what appears to be an abundance, I’m being led to believe that I should have less.
Now, as I sit here in Washington looking out across Birch Bay towards Canada where we once were, I ponder the question. Why do I have so much time? We must first address the mouse in the house, the hippopotamus in the living room, the elephant in the corner, the whale in the lineup.
We habitate in our vehicle. Something many signs in California say not to do. I’ve always thought the signs are demeaning though, habitation sounds more like something chimpanzees do at the zoo. After some time habitating in a vehicle, I’ve had some epiphanies. The first of which is that van habitation requires less loonies and toonies (what Canadians call their $1 and $2 coins, respectively) than an apartment, house, sailboat, timeshare, hotel, motel or even a holiday inn. I know this might be surprising that living on the street in a vehicle costs less than inside a house on that same street but it's true. Sometimes the line between van life and homeless is indeed blurry.
I’ve spent some of my “too much time” contemplating this financial revelation. If I relinquish my financial load then I can relinquish work demanding my time (no need to mention the positive social, mental and emotional benefits of having purposeful work here today). Financial cargo requires heavy lifting. Eliminate the cargo, eliminate the lifting. If I no longer need to afford an astronomical electric bill because I built my own electric system then I don’t need to earn an enormous income to afford these bills. What is usually sacrificed to earn an income to afford to pay the bills but time.
When my superior summoned me back to work, I resigned. I chose time. The border patrol agent asked me another question.
What do you do with all of this time?
Birch Bay State Park, Washington
