Doing

I am just a morning person by nature I guess. I love mornings. Is it because I tend to be the only one up and about and the confusion of the day has yet to set in? Could be. Mostly I think it is because I love to watch nature start its day. As I turn my head to the left I am looking out my patio door straight to the birdfeeders out by the shed. There are probably 10 smaller birds, I think they are wrens, vying for the feeder along with a gorgeous, yet intimidating in it’s splendor, cardinal. Below the feeder are some more of the little guys along with a morning dove and a rabbit all happily munching away on the seed that falls to the ground. Fun to watch how they have all worked out to their advantage the opportunity and condition presented to them. And they do it with willingness. I wonder if they ever have idle time.

Grandma comes to mind when I think about “idle time”. In her life there was no such thing. I think I may have mentioned before that this dear lady always wore an apron at the house. The moment she came through the door upon returning from an outing, the apron was grabbed from the hook and put on. It was like donning the armor of the Lord or something. And while that apron was on she was always doing. Even when you would stop by for a visit that visit involved us doing something whether it be snapping beans together, working bread dough, tending plants or any other million other things to do around the house. It NEVER felt like work. Not once. The conversation would flow so effortlessly while the hands just went into autopilot to the task. That’s probably the secret to why she never became overwhelmed by her life. It had been a hard one.

Do housewives do that anymore? Do we make sure there is no idleness? We will harp on how there just isn’t enough time in the day but is it really because we have so much to do or is it because we don’t take the opportunity that is there for us such as snapping beans while visiting? We have all these modern day conveniences but no more joy and satisfaction in the doing. Is it because we never stay home long enough anymore to tend to the home? We all seem to be running, running, running and seeing no finish line in sight. What exactly is it we are running to? Why do we over schedule and over burden ourselves? It is as if we think if we could just run fast enough we would catch up and find some time to be at home. What a strange circle we find ourselves in.

Do we look back fondly at times aware of what it is we see in our memories eye? When we really think about it can we all pretty much say that part of the appeal of the past was the simplicity and the basics of that life? Those kinds of conditions were fertile ground for one then to build relationships with one another. Remember knowing your neighbor? Why is it then we have made our lives so complicated? What is the lure and what do we see as the payoff?

I see where another rabbit has joined the group for breakfast. They are all happily, hungrily chatting about. I guess they are all acting neighborly regardless of their differences. Time for us all to learn something from the critters.