Have you seen the movie About a Boy? It’s the inspiration for our most recent household jokes. Hugh Grant’s character is an independently wealthy single guy with nothing to do. Here’s how he fills up his days:
I find the key is to think of a day as units of time, each unit consisting of no more than thirty minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: one unit, watching countdown: one unit, web-based research: two units, exercising: three units, having my hair carefully disheveled: four units. It's amazing how the day fills up, and I often wonder, to be absolutely honest, if I'd ever have time for a job; how do people cram them in?
As we walk through a significant transition in our ministry these days, we’re finding ourselves with more free time than usual. The “units” joke is a recurring source of laughter.
- Adding friends on Facebook: 1 unit
- Making bagels: 8 units (over 2 days)
- Listening to back episodes of This American Life: 2 units (each)
- Going to the post office: 1 unit
- Cutting Taza’s hair: 4 units
- Planning for Nueva Vida en Cristo: 3 units
- Sweeping: 1 unit
- Listening to my housekeeper talk about her (11) dogs: 2 units
- Knitting a hat for Heather: 6 units
- Knitting and unknitting the same hat until I get the size right: 24 units
And so on. Man, the day fills up quickly! I’m looking forward to being through with this season and finding myself with less units of free time, but for now, this one joke is keeping me plenty entertained.
