I was once in a Doctor’s office and saw a magnet to ask them about getting a Round Toit.  Of course my curiosity got the better of me and I asked the Dr. (a good hour after my appointment was supposed to have occurred!) “What exactly is a Round Toit?” Well, of course, the Dr. smiled and said “I am so glad you asked about that.” Little did I know that already at the age of about twenty- something I already had more Round Toits than I knew what to do with.  Now, at the “delicate” age of forty (shhh, don’t repeat that!) I STILL have more Round Toits than I can handle.  I have so many of them that the pre-occupations I have about all of my unattended to Round Toits keeps me awake and night and at times suffering from what I like to call my self-diagnosed Ostrich Syndrome.  Haven’t heard of Ostrich Syndrome (OS for short)?  It is pretty simple.  If you stick your head in the proverbial sand long enough, whatever is bothering you simply will disappear!  Brilliant really, if it worked!  As adults living in reality we all know full well that OS never works and will only serve to cause larger problems or an even greater catastrophic fallout of future events.  I believe that this catastrophic fallout is exactly where I was headed earlier this summer.  It was high time my Round Toits were put in order.

My Round Toits have been piling up for somewhere near twenty years now.  There was the Master’s degree that I would someday get around to finishing, the last of the weight I wanted to finish losing, the house that always somehow needed to be cleaned and organized and oh yeah, the mound of mail that always piles up on my kitchen countertops…just to name a few of my Round Toits.  There is a much longer list that I wouldn’t bore my worst enemy with, but rest assured, it probably reads pretty similar to every other adult out there in one way or another.  What is it about life that seems to get away from us so fast? When on earth did I turn forty? Had you asked me twenty years ago what I thought life would be like when I was forty, my answer would NOT be what it would be if they same question were asked of me today.  I had envisioned my life being organized, fun, fabulous and as always the over achieving type A personality that I tend to be, I would be on top of it all.  Somewhere along the way, I fell off of the on top of it all ball!

So, if your still wondering what a Round Toit is, it is all of those things that with the very best of intentions we always want to and mean to get around to doing.  All of my goals, aspirations and best laid plans get categorized, numbered and put on a shelf.  Is it because I try to take on too much? As I get older I keep telling myself I want to slow down, enjoy all that life has to offer and live a rich full life.  As I start to progress to that rich full life my Round Toits start to pile up again.  Where is that happy medium between a rich full life and one that is overtaxed with too many irons in the fire? I really do envy those individuals that seem to handle leading a rich full life and one that is balanced between work, family, life and all the extras that I want to be doing.  If anyone has that secret answer, please feel free to share.  I really want to declutter my house, my office, my car and my life.  I would love to start by getting rid of some of my Round Toits!

Theresa Jones

Photo Credit © Yuri Arcurs | Dreamstime.com

Tags: intentions, life, progress, Self-awareness