Kim Wilbanks

Hi Friends!  I’m back!

If this is your first time reading my blog, you probably didn’t even know I was gone.  But, if you’re one of my regular readers, you may be wondering where I’ve been the past three weeks.

Instead of my blog posts there were only crickets — or cicadas this year.

Why I’ve Been Missing

I wish I could tell you I was on some big humanitarian mission or perhaps on a book-signing tour.  Dealing with an illness would have even been a more noble cause for my absence.  Nope, the reason for my absence was simply a severe case of procrastination.

The past three weekends were busy ones for me.  I guess it’s a sign that things are getting somewhat back to normal since the onset of the pandemic.  My weekends have not been so full the past year and a quarter.  

The problem was poor planning on my part.  I knew each of those three weekends would be busy.  I knew that I should have my blog post written and ready to post well before the end of the week.  I knew that I would not have time to do it during the weekend.  I knew and yet I still put it off.  Instead of taking care of the task at the beginning of the week, I procrastinated.  I waited until the day I was supposed to post and was either too busy, too uninspired or too tired.  

It’s Nothing New

Unfortunately, I have been a procrastinator for as long as I can remember.  I usually completed school assignments in the wee morning hours of the day they were due.  I remember a friend I had in college who always began her assignments the very day they were assigned.  She would finish and enjoy her free time while I was scrambling to get my assignment done.

I’ve missed out on some things because of my procrastination.  As a toddler, my son loved Thomas the Tank Engine.  There was an attraction less than an hour from our hometown where you could take a ride on a train pulled by Thomas.  I kept putting it off and putting it off until it was too late.  He outgrew his love of Thomas the Tank Engine before I got around to taking him.  He’s thirty-two now so I don’t think he’s interested any longer.  Perhaps I’ll be able to take a grandchild to make up for it.

Ironically, I missed out on another train excursion with my daughter.  There is a cute little town just north of Orlando, about an hour away from my house.  Amtrak trains make a stop at the train station in the center of town.  Years ago, you could take the train up in the morning, shop and eat lunch then take the train back home.  My daughter and I talked about doing this during her pre-teen and teen years.  You know, one of those “we should do that one day” conversations.  I’m sad we never got around to it.  

No Time To Procrastinate

I’ve been fairly obsessed with time since I turned sixty a few months ago.  It seems like each passing year goes by faster and faster.  I fear I’m running out of time to do all the things I want or need to do.  There is no time to procrastinate.  Time is way too important.

There are many things we can put off that really aren’t earth-shattering; visits to attractions, fun excursions, blog posts.  But, there are other things we absolutely cannot afford to put off until later.  The most important of those is our relationship with God and his son Jesus Christ.  Right behind that would be our relationships with our loved ones.  We are all getting older, and as we do, time seems to move more swiftly, like a snowball gaining speed as it hurls down a mountain.  One day we’re going to run out of time.  Please don’t procrastinate.  Please make sure your relationship with Jesus is solid while you can.  If you aren’t sure, please talk to someone. I’m here.

How about you? Are you a procrastinator?  If so, what do you put off the most?  I’d love to hear.