Actually, you DO have the time

This is one of my biggest pet peeves: when people tell me they "don't have the time."

It's usually said in a whining voice--to elicit sympathy, for example, that they are unable to bargain shop and therefore MUST pay $1200 a month for groceries--or in a superior one (as in, I have better things to do because I am a VERY BUSY AND IN DEMAND PERSON and therefore you, Emily Marshall, will have to pick up my crap work).

To this, I can only say: we all have the same twenty-four hours. Everything else is a choice.

Anybody can homeschool/clean their homes/crochet/volunteer/go back to school/hang out laundry/garden/keep a blog/write a novel/read great novels/cook healthy food from scratch/work from home/paint with watercolors/refinish the furniture/have a yard sale/go camping/have coffee/sleep/play with the baby/eat meals at a table together as a family/let the children do craft projects/mend worn clothing/etc.
and I refuse to feel guilty for doing one or all of these things while other people choose not to because they 'don't have the time'.

It is a choice.

I would like to see this phrase erased from our lexicon and replaced with, "I would, but I'd rather (watch Jerry Springer? give my dog a pedicure? talk on the phone? it's okay, just be honest)" or better yet, "That's just not a priority in my life right now".

Because people who give up washing their hair every day so they can spend more time dealing with the really important stuff don't need to hear the drama.