I’m participating in a challenge to blog every day in May; today’s prompt instructed participants to share what (other than their job) they do. Hmmmm . . . 

What do I do? Even after pondering this question so long that I’m late in posting my response, I’m still unsure how to answer this question. Perhaps because in the past 5 years, other than my job, my life lacks the structure built around the to-do’s that come with being a wife and mom with kids at home.

So how should I approach this question?

Perhaps I could share the activities that take up my waking hours that aren’t taken up with job and job-related stuff. Here we go. I read. Quite a bit. I play games on my ipad; not just any games — I complete the New York Times crossword puzzle every day and play the free daily “7 Words” game. I’m also in a long-running Yahtzee tournament with my son and my daughter. They aren’t actually playing — I roll for both players in a round-robin type of tournament. For example, my son plays my daughter, and I play the winner; whoever wins that game plays the person who had been sitting out, and on and on. I watch sports on television; the NFL is my favorite, St. Louis Cardinals baseball games are a close 2nd, followed by March Madness, and if none of those are on, I’ll watch college or pro basketball. Of course, I love to watch the Olympics. I walk, but not enough; ditto for the following: write, work out, knit, read the Bible, do things with friends or acquaintances.

I procrastinate. I have 3 to-do’s on my summer project list. To be quite honest, they’re the same 3 to-do’s that were on last summer’s project list, and they were probably on the 2013 list as well. I don’t remember, or don’t want to. But this year, I think I’ll check them off.

I plan. I’m a planner by nature and love, love, love to plan. Lists are my favorite part of planning, so I also make lots of lists. Oh, not every day, but almost. I think best when I jot down lists. I’m not so far gone that I make lists of lists (but I used to be).

I dream. Not the close-your-eyes-and-go-to-sleep type of dreams but the this-is-how-I-want-to-live type of dreams.

I think of my children frequently throughout the day. I wonder how the day is going for them and say a quick prayer for each of them. I flash back to a memory from when we were a family of four, living our normal day-to-day lives in the same house, gathering for dinner together every evening.

I worry a bit. About our country, about what we as a culture have become.

I put one foot in front of the other — physically and emotionally.

I long for my life to be filled with joy again.

That’s what I do.