Today I Took My Watch Off

There is a really good potty training video that Travis and I like to show the kids when they are on the cusp of potty training. It's cute and informative and has lots of little songs. Anyway the one song goes "today I took my diaper off, I never felt so free". And in my head all day the lyrics to that song have been playing over and over in rapid succession with the slight replacement of watch instead of diaper.

For most of you I am sure that this is ridiculous and as I put my thoughts into word I know that I am a crazy person. This is not my first time recognizing this either. But here's the thing. I live by my watch. Since the dawning of time or at least my childhood where I could tell time I have always worn a watch. I live to be on time, hate being late and people who are late, hate not knowing what time it is.

From the moment my children have been born I put them on a schedule. Loosely at first but always tracking their eatting, feeding, pooping, etc...And within the week I have a refined schedule I then stick to. A friend was a little aghast to find out that my soon to be one year old son eats at 8:30, 12:30, 4:30, and 8:30 everyday. More on that story tomorrow if time permits.

Anyway I have an all sports waterproof watch. Travis got us matching ones for Valentine's Day the first year we were married. He knew my love for watches. The band has been breaking and wearing out and I have been wearing it less and less, settling for watchless showers and the likes. This past week at the beach I agonized over the decision to just take another watch and remove it while swimming. I caved in and did that. The first day was good. The second was okay, but then I realized that Peter's watch was waterproof and that I wouldn't need worry about lose, theft, or sand destruction of my watch if I just left it at home. So I did. And a week without a watch on for a couple of hours a day was revolutional for me.

I got home and it has been a hard adjustment. I find myself taking my watch off at nights now, for sports, and just because I can. So today I pushed my neurosis and tried to not wear it all day just to see how that would go. Well the song is skipping like a stuck CD over and over in my head "today I took my watch off, I never felt so free", but otherwise I feel good. I realized that every room in our house has no less than two time pieces with some rooms having dramtically more. I can always see those to clue me in. And the times I left the house the car clock worked marvelously, and playing at the park was more about fun than what I still had left to do at home since I had no indication of how long we had been there. It may not be a huge step, but it is a step towards recovery nonetheless.

Hello, my name is Mary and I am addicted to the time. The first step is admitting you have a problem I guess.