When gardening conflicts with social exercise

I found this draft here from June 2012 and found it complete enough to make a point. It reminded me of why I stopped blogging and gardening. More on that at the end of the article. 

I have been having a lot of fun in my gardening adventures so far.  I recall thinking last January that the reason I didn't do more gardening the previous summer was that my new job drained me of any off-time energy.  Then I started the running clinic again this year and remembered that I just didn't have time to garden.  Spending two evenings a week away from a brand new garden is taxing when you look at the sunlight lost.  In addition to the running clinic, I also volunteered for my work's bicycle team for the Tour de Rock.  There went my Saturday mornings along with more weeknights for bike workouts.  Thus March, April, and May found me with very little time for gardening (or writing).  I managed to make time for watering garden and lawn in the mornings so that when I could dedicate evening time again, the plants would still be alive and not completely choked with weeds.

I will not be so quick to volunteer for group events next year.  It's not just the time investment that bothers me.  What really bothers me about volunteering is that my passions and talents were not aligned best with how I was spending my free time.  I volunteered for the running clinic this year as a group leader because I really enjoyed it last year as a participant.  I volunteered for the bike race team because I just bought a new bike and wanted to see what it was like to ride with other bikers.  I'm not much of a pack member.  I would describe myself as more of a lone explorer, not because I don't like people, but because I tend to wander off on my own rather than be led down a path by someone else.  

This Saturday is the big bike race.  Next week I have to travel for work (grr...).  Then I can stop pining away over what I might do with my time and start taking action.  For the moment, I have some time to contemplate the big picture of why I want so desperately to succeed in my gardening endeavors.

Well here it is November 2014 and I have not gardened since I wrote that article. After my business trip, work became so stressful that I had to find another employer. My new workplace is much better, but I did not learn my lesson here and joined a gym and signed up for personal training (contracts are evil).  Then I got pregnant and had a baby. While I was pregnant I became obsessed with early retirement. What I learned has changed my perspective on everything   So between parenthood and a financial epiphany, my priorities have changed. Eventually I will garden again, but it is not my main focus now.